Big Brunches Set For Easter Sunday in Roseville

On the menu Easter Sunday in Roseville: big brunches.

Take Axel's Charhouse, which is attached to the Radisson Hotel of Roseville. The full-service restaurant is expecting upwards of 1,000 people to pass through its doors for its Easter buffet, which includes seafood, breads, cheeses, eggs, omelettes, fruits, turkey, lamb and prime rib, said Anthony Benedetti, general manager of Axel's. 

Benedetti said that Axel's Easter buffet is so big that it will span 60 feet in the main ballroom of the Radisson Hotel. There also will be a couple of ice carvings adorning the buffet line, he added.

"People come here and they are just blown away" by the elaborate food offerings, Benedetti said.

Depending on your age, the buffet prices range from free for kids age 5 and under to $14.99 for adults.

Other Roseville restaurants are also bracing for a big Easter.

At , a restaurant near HarMar Mall, has had Easter reservations booked for at least the last month, said Dan LeClair, a restaurant manager. While the restaurant, whose seating capacity is about 150 people, is typically busy on Sundays; Easter is among a handful of special holidays with Chianti Grill running slightly extended hours, he said.

Chianti Grill's Easter brunch will include omelettes, waffles, pasta, vegetables, prime rib, carved ham and an extended assortment of desserts. The cost is $18.99 for adults, $8.99 for childrens age 4 to 12 and free for children three and younger, LeClair said.

At Old Country Buffet,  service manager Matt Elsmore said his Easter business is about 40 percent up compared with an average Sunday. "Easter and Mother's Day are the Super Bowl of the year for us," he said. "We will be pretty darn business."

Old Country Buffet offers a $5.99 breakfast until 10 a.m. Sunday, then Easter brunch/dinner afterwards for $10.99, Featured foods include Belgian waffles, made-to-order omelettes and all the orange juice you can drink. The heavy Easter traffic means the restaurant usually goes through, among other things, 12 turkeys, Elsmore said.

A few other restaurants in Roseville will be also offering Easter brunches. They include and

That local restaurants are gearing up for Easter brunches and dinners is no surprise. The National Restaurant Association reported last year (its most recent survey) that 33 million people were expected to celebrate the Easter holiday by dining out.

The trade group said lunch and dinner are the most popular meals for Easter celebrations, and when it comes to must-have food, more than half of consumers said they would be looking for an Easter buffet. 

Buffets are a popular option for Easter diners because they provide a variety of food options to fit anyone’s dietary needs and preferences, said Hudson Riehle, a National Restaurant Association official.
In the 2011 Restaurant Association survey, 29 percent of individuals visiting a restaurant for an Easter meal planned to dine out for brunch, while 21 percent said they are going out for breakfast.