A popular restaurant in Vestal has announced it will be closed until further notice.

On Monday, Buffet Star posted a message on its Facebook page indicating the decision to shut down operations would be temporary.

The unsigned note stated "we will be making upgrades to the restaurant and taking personal time to spend with our growing family."

A sign on the Buffet Star restaurant building on Vestal Road on February 5, 2025. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
A sign on the Buffet Star restaurant building on Vestal Road on February 5, 2025. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
loading...

The message did not reference critical health violations cited after a January 3 inspection of the restaurant at 4089 Vestal Road.

Online records indicated two "critical" violations and 10 "non-critical" violations were found during the most recent inspection of the business.

A view from the "pick up" window at Buffet Star restaurant in Vestal. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
A view from the "pick up" window at Buffet Star restaurant in Vestal. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
loading...

The first critical violation was for "food from unapproved source, spoiled, adulterated on premises." The second was for "canned foods found in poor conditions (leakers, severe dents, rusty, swollen cans)."

There appeared to be no one inside the Buffet Star building Monday afternoon. Two phone numbers listed for the restaurant were unanswered.

Attempts to reach the permitted operator of the business were unsuccessful.

A sign at the entrance to Buffet Star explained the closure of the restaurant. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
A sign at the entrance to Buffet Star explained the closure of the restaurant. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)
loading...

People who drove into the parking lot to visit the restaurant at lunch time said they were surprised and disappointed that the place was closed.

The Buffet Star Facebook message did not indicate when the business was expected to resume operations. Buffet Star opened in the 9,100-square-foot Vestal Road building in January 2010. The restaurant moved to the location after operating at a smaller site at the nearby Campus Plaza.

WNBF News Radio 1290 AM & 92.1 FM logo
Enter your number to get our free mobile app

Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: Email bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.

LOOK: 20 American foods that raise eyebrows outside of the US

Stacker compiled a list of 20 unusual and uniquely American foods that might raise eyebrows outside the U.S.

Gallery Credit: Charlotte Barnett

LOOK: Popular Dinners Americans Don’t Make as Often Anymore

From classic casseroles to heaping helpings of beige-on-beige, these beloved American dinner dishes have fallen out of the mealtime rotation.

Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz

LOOK: Best Beers From Every State

To find the best beer in each state and Washington D.C., Stacker analyzed January 2020 data from BeerAdvocate, a website that gathers user scores for beer in real-time. BeerAdvocate makes its determinations by compiling consumer ratings for all 50 states and Washington D.C. and applying a weighted rank to each. The weighted rank pulls the beer toward the list's average based on the number of ratings it has and aims to allow lesser-known beers to increase in rank. Only beers with at least 10 rankings to be considered; we took it a step further to only include beers with at least 100 user rankings in our gallery. Keep reading to find out what the best beer is in each of the 50 states and Washington D.C.

Gallery Credit: Angela Underwood

More From WNBF News Radio 1290 AM & 92.1 FM