Going with the OP’s expanded definition I would have to say we pretty much don’t have them up here (Boston area).
I would say in my experience they are extremely thin on the ground to non-existent in New England and also the Hudson Valley region of New York State.
What about Old Country Buffet? There are a few in the Boston suburbs and cater to the geriatric set as well.
Going by the “grab a tray, ask servers behind the counter to dole out different foods for you, go sit down” definition, the two I can recall that I’ve been to are in Chicago, IL (in Union Station, in fact) and in Berkeley, CA. I dunno about relative popularity but they do exist outside the South.
Oh, now that I think of it, there is an Italian restaurant chain around Chicago - Pompeii - that’s semi-cafeteria. Grab a tray, get in line, walk along and ask for your food. If you just want pizza or a similar dish, it’s probably already made and you’ll get it handed over right then. Same with desserts. Pasta dishes get brought out to your table later. They have a self-serve soda fountain at the end of the line, too.
Oh, I know. See my post no. 9. And, I will acknowledge that for sure, buffet style places are rampant both in and outside of the South. Them 'Mericans likes to eat lots of food.
That’s why I focused on cafeterias proper.
The furthest North I ever saw one was Washington, D.C., kind of in the hood.
Yeah.
I’m thinking W. Virginia has at least one, in a mall not too far from Charleston. At least they did 6 or so years back. My recollection is… Picadilly’s or some such was the name.
The Carolinas have a K&W Cafeteria brand in some abundance, but not TOO many.
Don’t know of any in NE Ohio. I’ve certainly seen quite a few in the South.
As documented here: Tray Chic: Celebrating Indiana’s Cafeteria Culture Indiana has had several cafeteria chains … I remember eating at Laughner’s with my grandparents many a time. Sadly, they’re losing out to AYCE places like Old Country Buffets (blech).
Piccadilly sounds right – they bought out Morrisons it appears.
K&W: 32, to be exact, and very regional:
We still have a couple around here (PA Dutch country) that still bill themselves as smorgasbords.
Miller’s Smorgasbord (total tourist trap…way overpriced for the quality of the food)
Shady Maple Smorgasbord (as close to Heaven as God’ll let me get)
When I lived in Louisiana 30 years ago Morrison’s was populated by families more than old people. In Silicon Valley, the only cafeterias I know of are company cafeterias, which have people behind counters giving out food.
When I was a kid in NY the Automats were basically cafeterias, even if some of the food was in machines.
Gee, Luby’s must have fallen on hard times. According to their web site, they’re down to 59 outlets, 53 of them in Texas. They used to be more ubiquitous throughout the South. Speaking for myself, my personal perception that cafeterias were more common in the South was almost entirely due to Luby’s.
Maybe astorian is right and their clientele is dying off.
A friend of mine used to say “Eat at Luby’s and your hair turns blue.”
None in Pittsburgh that I’m aware of. We had Old Country Buffets (same chain as Hometown Buffets) but all of those locations have closed, especially since Golden Corral came to town. We also have an abundance of pan-Asian buffets. But no cafeterias.
When I was a kid my grandparents and aunt lived in Houston, TX and I have fond memories of visiting and being taken to Wyatt’s Cafeterias in the last 70s and Luby’s in the early 80s. It seemed to me to be a very southern ideal, the crisp-uniformed ladies who would dish up the food, and indulge a little kid pointing and saying “no, not that square of fish/hamburger steak/piece of lasagna, that one.” They’d recommend the side dishes to go along with the entree and wipe the rims of the plates before handing them over the sneeze guard. It was slower paced and more genteel than the serve yourself, get as much as you can, go back for fifths sensibility of the buffet, where you may only interact with a human when you pay the bill, unless there’s a “carving station” or, in the case of the pan-Asian places, hibachi.
Some mall food court places are basically small cafeterias except that the workers pass the tray along give it to you at the register. Of course, that’s because they’ve eliminated railings and other things preventing people from grabbing something and running off.
Luby’s is popular with families because of their pricing for children’s meals, also. I seem to recall kids eat free two days a week and it’s pretty inexpensive (for kid, at least) otherwise. The food is “home style” and not overly seasoned, therefore it most likely will not offend kids or old folks.
I just googled Clifton’s Cafeteria. Omigod. Omigod! OMIGOD! I want to GO THERE!!! It looks FABULOUS!!!
I love cafeterias, even the ones at the hospitals. Luckily they’re a bit out of the way from where I live, otherwise I’d be wearing my ‘fat pants’ all the time. If we had a Luby’s, I’d eat there. So my hair turns blue. So what?
I guess that’s sort of the appeal – if you’re craving something simple but filling like roast turkey and gravy, or meatloaf, or candied yams or black eyed peas, where are you going to get it, at a decent price, if you’re not willing to make it yourself?
I guess if you stuck to the turkey breast and green beans side of the menu, and steered away from the fried okra and the pies, you might be able to avoid the fat pants problem. Admittedly that might not be as much fun.
Ah memories. My folks used to drag us out to Morrisson’s about once a week.
And yeah, in my travels, these places seem to be a lot more thick on the ground in the South and Southwest than elsewhere.
This thread makes me want to go to the Picadilly at Ansley Mall just for nostalgia’s sake.
I remember that, and some large companies had their own also.
Interesting aside: there was a company here in Jackson, Miss. which had lasted through the Great Depression. At that time, they began offering all the employees a free lunch in the cafeteria - doing their part to help the employees I guess. When a friend of mine moved here in 1988, they were still doing it.
ETA: spoke-: the Picadilly near Highland Village here has that almond-encrusted fish. YUM!! Too bad I’m broke this weekend. 
I don’t think I’ve ever been to a cafeteria in a department store, but Philadelphia stores, like Wanamakers, had excellent restaurants. 12 years ago I went to a fabulous restaurant in a department store in Paris, so the tradition still lives in some places.
As for large companies, any place reasonably large has one, usually somewhat subsidized. My current company has some large campuses with excellent cafeterias, with grills, sandwich lines, an international station, and a permanent Chinese food station better than some of the takeout places I go to. It makes tons of sense in places like Silicon Valley, since it keeps people on premises, especially when you need to work through lunch.