Golden Corral's Grand Opening Date Released by Local Owners: UPDATE

MILFORD, CT — Ok, it's almost time to eat. You may want to eat light tonight so you have enough room to belly up to the buffet beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 1.

This appears to be no April Fools Joke as Golden Corral's local franchisee shared on their Facebook page for its nearly 5,000 hungry fans that, "WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT OUR CHEFS AND STAFF ARE WAITING TO SERVE YOU! THE "BEST BUFFET IN THE U.S.A." IS OPENING TOMORROW, APRIL 1, 2017, AT 11:00 AM. SEE YOU SOON!"

In 10 minutes the Facebook post had more than 50 shares and 30 comments. One person wrote, "Please don't be a(n) April fools...my hopes and dreams can't take it!!"

Another person wrote, "On a Saturday? U guys better have all hands on duty open to close because the whole northeast will be there!"

Golden Corral corporate had indicated the buffet would open on March 30 but a couple of inspections needed to be completed, which pushed the grand opening to April 1. The local franchisee has correctly stated that they never gave a grand opening date until tonight's social media post.

The buffet is located at 74 Turnpike Square in the former Hometown Buffet location.

According to its website, "Golden Corral's legendary, endless dinner buffet features an enormous variety with 15 proteins including USDA, grilled to order sirloin steaks, pork, seafood, shrimp, and chicken.

"...The endless lunch buffet features a wide variety of home-style classics like our pot roast simmered for 12-hours, made-from-scratch meatloaf, crispy fried chicken, creamy mac and cheese, made-from-scratch mashed potatoes, beloved Bourbon Street Chicken, so many fresh salad choices and dozens of other items.

"Our endless breakfast buffet features made-to-order omelettes, fluffy pancakes, hot-off-the griddle sausage and bacon, fruit, French toast, pastries and much more. Our bakery and dessert buffet are filled with freshly baked breads, like our famous yeast rolls, homemade cakes and pies, delicious cookies, brownies, pastries, and ice cream."

MILFORD, CT — And now we know why Golden Corral's big grand opening was delayed. The buffet was planning to open for business on March 30, but that was scrapped at the last minute.

The buffet located at 74 Turnpike Square hasn't completed all of its inspections as of yet, including some with the fire department, NBC Connecticut reports. Golden Corral still has a few matters to attend to, according to NBC. The health department was also visiting the buffet on Thursday, NBC Connecticut reports.

The whole issue of when will Golden Corral open has taken on a life of its own. Golden Corral corporate announced the grand opening to be March 30, but the local franchisee has never stated a specific date or confirmed what corporate announced.

At 10 p.m. Wednesday, the local franchisee said the buffet would not be opening March 30, and it reminded everyone that it never said March 30 would be the grand opening date. The franchisee said it went public that the buffet wouldn't be opening on Thursday because people were planning to come, and some were even going to take off from work to come.

This will be Golden Corral's first active location in Connecticut. A prior location in Groton closed.

Late last night, Golden Corral, Milford, Connecticut, wrote, "Bottom line: Everyone means well and is eager for us to come to CT. We are touched by your enthusiasm and support. We are working hard to welcome you soon. Thank you."

And no, there is no grand opening date as of yet, from the local franchisee, at least.

You might be wondering why all the attention about a buffet's opening. Good question, but its local Facebook page has thousands of likes, hundreds of comments, and it's one of the most read stories of 2017 in Connecticut across Patch. It's clearly a certain number of people clearly care.

• To sign up for Milford breaking news alerts and more, click here.

The Milford site was the former home of Hometown Buffet, which closed more than a year ago. The company has been renovating the building for months and has routinely been teasing on social media the grand opening by saying it's coming soon but never saying exactly when.

Golden Corral is continuing to hire and last week posted that it is looking for "qualified team members to join us, especially the 4 positions listed below: * Grill Cooks * Line Cooks * Cold Prep * Utilities. You need to be registered and please email CTGC (CTGoldenCorral@gmail.com) your resume ASAP."

Staff posted on Facebook that they've been trying to bring a Golden Corral Buffet to Connecticut for the past seven years. When someone posted that the grand opening was taking forever, staff responded by saying, "A lot closer than 7 years ago. Grateful CTGC never gave up!"

"The wait is always hardest at the end...7 years of never giving up! We are finally here (almost)!" Golden Corral shared on Facebook.