by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Enjoying brunch at one of the area’s many restaurants after an Easter service is a family tradition that continues in the face of the current economy. But there are other businesses that are involved in helping people celebrate the holiday.
“We haven’t experienced a lull in business,” said Krista Shaughnessy, director of membership services for San Jose Country Club. “Easter Sunday is one of our busier days. It compares to Mother’s Day.”
The club will have two seatings, 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and they will be preceded by Easter egg hunts for children.
Similar services will be offered at Epping Forest Yacht Club and the University Club, and the latter has added a program for children this year.
“After the Easter egg hunt on the Riverwalk, there will be a kids brunch starting at 10:30 a.m.,”said Margaret Atter, University Club receptionist.
The meal will be followed by pictures with Peter Cottontail and crafts at 11:30 a.m.
“Reservations are really starting to come in now that we are getting closer to Easter,” said Atter. “We are getting close to selling out.”
The University Club will seat between 350-400 people for brunch.
There are also plenty of places for the general public to enjoy the holiday. The Chart House has been hosting families for the midday meal on Jacksonville Southbank since 1982. The riverfront restaurant offers its regular menu and signature items during the brunch.
“We’ve noticed that people may not be going out to eat on a regular basis like they used to,” said Mike Bailey, Chart House general manager, “but they don’t miss special occasions. We will normally seat more people for Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners, but Easter is one of our top five days.”
The holiday is not only about the feast that occurs after the conclusion of Lent, it is also about the festivities surrounding the return of the Easter Bunny. Local costume stores help make that return possible.
Adrienne and Jack Anderson have owned Freckles Costume Rentals for about 22 years and operated out of stores in the strip mall at the corner of Timuquana Road and Roosevelt Boulevard. They have seen their business grow from a small mail order business that sold clown supplies – Jack was Freckles the clown, but has retired – to a year-round costume rental company.
Easter functions help keep the cash register ringing. The store offers 17 rabbit costumes for rent and all of them were tagged for pickup as of Tuesday. They were reserved for Easter egg hunts in communities including Eagle Harbor and Fleming Island, and businesses including Publix and Chick-fil-A. The Roosevelt Mall location will host the Easter Bunny on April 7 from 4-8 p.m. and he will be available for pictures.
“We started getting reservations for the costumes in January,” said Adrienne, who is the president of the National Costume Association. “We have one man who rents a bunny suit every year just to go to hospitals during Easter.”
The suits are rotated to the sale rack after about five years of service.
“They are white,” said Anderson. “So they are hard to keep clean.”
Julie Gump’s Make Believe Costumes has been around just as long as Freckles, and she has come up with some creative ways to keep the bunny hopping off the rack throughout the year.
“We were one of the first stores to get people in costume and stand them out on the street to bring people into the store,” said Gump, who has locations on Parental Home Road and San Jose Boulevard. “I’ve had bunnies hopping around this town for years.”
Make Believe Costumes offers about 75 bunny outfits for rental and Gump sold about 100 rentals last year due to events taking place the weekend before Easter and events on Easter weekend.
Gump also offers cool vests to wear underneath the costume for renters who may be involved with a parade or production outside. She enjoys being in the business of make-believe during tough economic times.
“Even during the Great Depression costume companies flourished,” said Gump. “People need a diversion, and you can get that diversion relatively cheap at $20-$30 for a costume. I wouldn’t say the business is recession proof, but more like recession resistant.”
The journey of the Easter Bunny would be amiss without treats to hand out and that’s where local chocolate companies come in.
“Easter is our third biggest holiday behind Valentine’s Day and Christmas,” said Allison Behringer, director of franchising for Peterbrooke Chocolatier. “We introduced some new items last year that were well received. We started the bunny ears for people who don’t want to eat the whole bunny and we created a Pop Rock creme egg that the kids like.”
All the Peterbrooke stores will host the Easter Bunny this Saturday and Sunday and he will be available for pictures with children.
Chocolate eggs are the pride of 3 Sister’s Chocolate Bar and Bakery during the Easter holiday. The handmade eggs come in chocolate truffle, peanut butter creme, fruit and nut, caramel pecan and coconut. Traditional Easter baskets and chocolate bunnies are also available.
“The eggs are a family favorite,” said Beverly Brinn, owner. “We’ve been making them by hand in the store since we opened in 2001.”
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