More Awesome Than You!

I have made some nice lots with ticket machines for the pay, like hang-out places or hotels. I don't want to complicate some of them with a kitchen and staff, so I just stuck in a buffet table, and hired someone to restock and someone to tidy up. (It is a sim- owned lot) But very time I have a sim go down there, they have to clean up the table and serve food again. Sometimes it appears full but all the food except the gelatin has gone bad.

I suppose I'm wrong in assuming these tables work like the ones from Sims1 Vacation pack, you don't pay for a plate of food. Your "rich" sim has to go down there and set the table by himself? For all that money? Am I missing something here?

No, they do work on community lots, but the sims visiting have to be hungy, and the buffet table carries a lot of food (especially for a new business without a lot of customers).  I got around the cost problem by using Paladin's buffet, which lets you charge for each plate.  You can find it at http://www.simwardrobe.com.

I recommend EventHorizon's buffet table at MST2.  It is full when you place it, stays full and doesn't go off, and serves all known food!   Then you can get my "salad bar" cover from Laden Swallow to go over it and make it look less like a private party table.

I've been using Paladin's food replicator on my teen hangout community lot. You don't make money from it, but I think it's need to see the variety of food they pick to eat all on their own.

I initially didn't want to install Paladin's buffet, as it means more items in my catalog, maybe I will now, or EventHorizon's table.
But the real question is, if the table is completely empty, do the restockers fill it back up? Mine don't seem to do it. :(

Paladin's has an auto-restock function. The set price is $25 per plate, so you can fill it with something cheap like hamburgers or hot dogs and make money if you sell at least 2 plates.

Well I'll definately try that out, you guys are so convincing! And I never even thought about hot dogs, when that's the normal food for a party place, not turkey :D Thanks

Joe, the autorestock only works when the food runs out.  If there are say two servings left, they can go off and start getting flies.  Eventually a guest might take one and get sick.

Actually, with 'noeatcrap' in the game the guests don't take the food if it goes off -- someone just has to clear it up to generate a new plate.  I've only used Paladin's buffet in businesses, and the business owner in many cases will autonomously clear it off when it goes bad.