Easter weekend is considered the unofficial start of the Cape Fear region tourist season and, arguably, the official start of brunch season.

Thirty percent of all Americans and 45-56 percent of Americans ages 18-34 eat brunch out or at home at least once a week, according to food industry market research firm Technomic. Half of brunch lovers ages 25-34 consider brunch fun and exciting, Technomic found.

The segment may be happy to hear about the new brunch service, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays, at north Wilmington’s farm-to-table restaurant Pembroke’s in The Forum shopping center on Military Cutoff Road. The menu changes weekly but is likely to include some standards such as house-made buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy; rare roast beef with farm eggs, hash browns and red wine jus; and fried chicken with golden waffles, red-eye gravy and sorghum syrup, chef/owner James Doss said.

Ethnic breakfast and brunch meals are a 2014 trend, forecasters claim. Home brunch lovers can find classic Italian and Italian-American to-go options this week at Taste of Italy, 1101 S. College Road near Oleander Drive. Braided Easter breads; the deep-dish pie “pizza rustica,” full of Italian sausage, fresh mozzarella, provolone and ricotta cheeses and whole hard-boiled eggs; and pizza gane, another deep-dish pie packed with eggs, cheese, pepperoni and prosciutto, are all made from family recipes. The owners suggest placing orders in advance.

Diners also like brunch all day and breakfast for dinner, trend watchers say. Downtown’s Le Catalan opens for Sunday dinner starting on Easter day, meaning customers can order the restaurant’s popular quiche well past brunch.