The long awaited opening of the Golden Corral Buffet & Grill took place today, at the southern edge of the Lehigh Valley Mall campus, east of Macy's.

The coveted all-you-can-eat buffet chain held an official ribbon-cutting ceremony late Wednesday afternoon attended by the owners, family members, local and regional dignitaries and the restaurant chain's corporate representatives.

Kal Patel and Hiren Patel, co-owners, said at the ground breaking in July they anticipated construction to take place on the fast track, setting a tentative opening by Thanksgiving, which was later moved to Christmas. Unforeseen problems, such as having PPL provide power to the structure, led to a delay in opening the restaurant.

Whitehall Township Mayor Edward D. Hozza Jr. confirmed on Friday the township issued a temporary certificate of occupancy for the restaurant, allowing its opening at 10:30 a.m. yesterday morning. The mayor said there are no outstanding issues precluding the opening.

Golden Corral is a handsome 11,000 square foot structure, yards away from the nearby Lehigh Valley Thruway, Route 22. The restaurant seats 400 patrons. It is located on the grounds which several years ago housed Chi Chi's Mexican Restaurant. The structure was razed to make way for Golden Corral.

There are stations featuring various ethnic and American foods. Golden Corral is known for its TV spots heralding "Golden Wonderful," a fountain with cascading chocolate and carving stations.

The Whitehall based Golden Corral marks the first such franchise for the Patels, They earlier owned Dunkin' Donuts franchises in the region.

Based in North Carolina, Golden Corral has over 450 locations throughout the United States, including eight in Pennsylvania.

Golden Corral previously had a restaurant in the Lehigh Valley and it operated a restaurant in Emmaus, which closed in 2005.

Township commissioners in January 2012 gave conditional approval for the land development plan presented by the Patels' for the restaurant. Two Sycamore trees along Ring Road at the mall property were to remain as a condition for the project to proceed.