If you’re troubled by biting the head off a chocolate Easter bunny, don’t worry. The Hot Chocolatier in downtown Chattanooga has the solution.
They make them without heads.
Easter candy has flown off the shelves at the Hot Chocolatier and other stores around Chattanooga – which jibes with a recent survey by the National Retail Federation that found those celebrating the holiday plan to spend an average of $146 per person, or $17.3 billion, on such items as Easter baskets, food and travel. That’s the highest level in the 13 years that the survey has been conducted and up significantly over last year’s $140.62 per person and $16.4 billion total.
“This is a big time for us,” Hot Chocolatier manager Janelle Newell said. “It’s not quite as big as Valentine’s Day, but it’s in our top five.”
Easter is a busy time of year at the HoneyBaked Ham of Chattanooga store on Gunbarrel Road near Hamilton Place mall.
“It’s number three,” General Manager John Lane said. “Thanksgiving’s number two and, of course, Christmas is our busiest season.”
HoneyBaked Ham hired about 40 temporary employees to work about a week to get ready for Easter. It hires temporary employees to gear up for Thanksgiving and Christmas, too.
Easter sales started to pick Monday at the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Battlefield Parkway in Fort Oglethorpe, store manager Steve Crow said.
“Easter’s always a last-minute holiday,” Crow said. “They don’t buy for Easter until the last [few] days. It’s always been that way around here for some reason.”
Clothing isn’t a big-ticket item for the holiday anymore, Crow said.
“It’s mainly just food and candy,” he said. “You’ve got some clothes. Most people don’t dress up too much anymore for church.”
Crow couldn’t say whether this Easter shopping season was especially busy at the Wal-Mart store he manages.
“It’s hard to tell, because it jumps around all the time. They can’t never keep Easter put,” Crow said. “It seems to be a little better than last year. I ain’t saying it’s a barn burner, but it’s a little bit better.”
Today marks the start of spring break for Hamilton County schools. Despite a recent spike in gas prices, fuel costs are still well below a year ago, encouraging many to take spring break trips.
There’s a local effort to capture spring break traffic: the Chattanooga Spring Break Safari and Scavenger Hunt held from March 12 to April 10 and organized by the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau. The 13-site scavenger hunt includes stops at the Bluff View Art District, Chattanooga Choo Choo, Chattanooga Zoo, Chattanooga-North Shore District, Chattanooga-Riverfront District, Chattanooga-Southside District, Creative Discovery Museum, Hunter Museum of American Art, Rock City, Ruby Falls, Southern Belle Riverboat, Tennessee Aquarium and the Tennessee Valley Railroad.
“Everybody has something extra that’s going on for spring break for kids,” said Thom Benson, spokesman for the Tennessee Aquarium, downtown’s most popular tourist draw.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or twitter.com/meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.