J and L Family Restaurant, on the top level of the Tamworth Services Club building, served up its last meals at the weekend.

Kristian Brooks is the CEO of the Servies Group Tamworth - which owns the building - and said it was a "devastating" loss.

"It was due to COVID, the all-you-can-eat buffet was not compliant with the health and safety plan with people serving themselves," he told the Leader.

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Mr Brooks said they tried to "resurrect" the restaurant by having staff dish out the food, but it wasn't meant to be.

"The days of the buffet have gone, for the next few years at least, they will be non-existent."

The top floor of the Marius Street building has been home to three different businesses in its decades-long history, but it's always been a serve-yourself feast.

"It's devastating, not only for the club, but also for the staff," Mr Brooks said.

He said there were team members who had been working at the restaurant long-term - including one woman who had been there since the day it opened - and many regular customers.

"You don't run a restaurant for 26 years without people being upset that it's closing, it's catered around sporting bodies and elderly clients who can pick what they like to eat ... it appeals to a whole different market," Mr Brooks said.

"The success of that you will never replicate, you could serve 500 or 600 people a night up there.

"A great job has been done over 26 years and all the different owners, it's sad to see all that dining option stop because of something out of our control with COVID."

The Services Club building is still up for sale, and Mr Brooks said the business would wait to see what happens with the building and COVID-19 restrictions before trying to recruit another restaurant at the premises.

But, one thing is for sure.

"We won't open another buffet again, they are done, we will never run a food operation using the format of a buffet," Mr Brooks said.

The company also owns the North Tamworth Bowling Club, but no solid plans are in place at this stage to set up a new restaurant there.

Mr Brooks said he was glad to see some of the J and L Family Restaurant staff had been redeployed to another of the local family's restaurants, at Centillion on Goonoo Goonoo Road.