West Virginia —

After hearing from FFRF, Golden Corral put a stop to a practice that favored religion over nonreligion by offering free meals to religious preachers.

FFRF learned that the Golden Corral in Beckley, W.Va., offered financial advantage to some customers solely on the basis of their religion, in the form of a free meal to “preachers of all denominations” every Sunday from March to April of 2025.

“Golden Corral’s restrictive promotional practice favors religious customers, and denies customers who do not proselytize, as well as nonbelievers, the right to ‘full and equal’ enjoyment of Golden Corral,” FFRF Staff Attorney Madeline Ziegler wrote.

Though Golden Corral never offered an official response to FFRF, FFRF learned from WV News, a local news organization, that the promotion had been suspended as of Aug. 4. The announcement came from franchise owner Eddie Torrico via Facebook, and he did not indicate if the offer would be resumed in the future.

The post Golden Corral put a stop to favoring religion over non-religion by offering free meals to religious preachers (November 2025) appeared first on Freedom From Religion Foundation.