Wall Street Journal. That was welcome news for my pandemic-weary family. I was afraid such wide-open dining would go the way of the dinosaur. (âLook out! The asteroid is headed for the chocolate fountain!â âMmmâ¦chocolate-covered asteroidâ¦â) Iâm exhausted by all the paranoid workarounds of the past year: mile-long drive-thru lines, âgrab the takeout bag and get out of our lobby, Typhoid Mary,â St. Bernards bearing kegs of sweet tea, sandwiches fired from T-shirt cannons, etc. Some buffets are shunning walk-in customers and requiring reservations, in order to cope with labor shortages and the pent-up demand from food enthusiasts enjoying a return to normalcy. This, of course, assumes that overhearing people demand, âI want soft-serve ice cream AND gravy on my tuna salad, just like Grandma used to makeâ is normal.