Toronto's Mongolian-style grill buffet has closed after 14 years

After over a decade of all-you-can-eat barbecue, Genghis Khan Mongolian Grill is no more.

The sprawling buffet on Don Mills Road and its circular Mongolian-style grill is closed, said owner Fred Lee, and he has no intention of reopening anytime soon. 

According to Lee, who launched Genghis Khan just shy of 15 years ago, the future rules around buffets are just too precarious for self-serve buffets to stay open during COVID-19.

"There's no protocol for us to open yet," said Lee. "And even if we open, the volume is not going to [support] us to continue." 

The massive restaurant squeezed into the Don Mills strip plaza has long been a destination for family gatherings and northern Chinese barbecue, with mainstream essentials like General Tao chicken and dumplings. 

Genghis Khan's closure follows the folding of another AYCE staple: Frankie Tomatto's, which closed last weekend after 25 years in Markham.