What’s hot and what’s happening now in the restaurant scene.

Northborough news. It looks like Northborough Crossing, just of off Route 9, will have three new restaurants going into the area. A new Applebee’s, a Margaritas and Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza will open soon at the shopping plaza, which is also home to Wegmans.

This is no bull. The Bull Mansion at 55 Pearl St. in Worcester has a new owner. Vikki Mariano, who also owns both Spiritual and Electric Haze, recently purchased the property. She plans to open a farm-to-table restaurant with a steampunk theme. The space was home to TiNoVo and then 55 Pearl, both excellent eateries. No opening date has been set yet, but it will be a welcome addition to downtown Worcester.

A Civics lesson. The Civic Kitchen & Drink recently opened in downtown Westborough. The gastro pub is owned by Tom Oliveri, of Worcester’s Peppercorn’s and Wormtown Brewery fame. The family also operates other eateries; Oli’s in West Boylston and Prezzo in Milford are among them.

I’ll have The Usual. It appears the Niche Hospitality finally has a name for its new restaurant on Worcester’s Shrewsbury Street. The Usual will take the place of the Fix Burger Bar once it moves over to Grove Street in June. Niche has consistently used this space as sort of a culinary incubator; Mezcal got its start here, too. Watch for a July opening of The Fix at its new location. We presume the Shrewsbury Street space will be closed for a short time for renovations.

Niche marketing. Speaking of Niche Hospitality, we can report that the company has redone and expanded the bar area of Mezcal’s Leominster location. The newly expanded bar opened the last week of April. Stop in and check it out.

Updates. We hear that the much anticipated opening of Lock 50 in Worcester’s Canal District will happen any day now. Ditto for Dead Horse Hill in downtown Worcester. The new awning at Dianna’s Neighborhood Bistro, at the corner of Chandler and June streets in Worcester, is up, so it, too, should open very soon. Quinn’s on West Boylston Street will open in early June.

Rising like a phoenix. Beemer’s Tavern will reopen in May on Main Street in Fitchburg. It’s been closed for two years after a fire at the former location. It will be located across the street from Destare.

Don’t forget mom. Please remember to make those Mother’s Day reservations ASAP, as restaurants are getting pretty booked up. If you don’t want to take her out on her special day, you can always take her out a week later or get her a gift card at her favorite restaurant.

It’s no Mexican Independence Day. Lastly, remember Cinco de Mayo on May 5, when you get to drink tequila and margaritas and eat tacos – all in the name of some long ago battle. Try out your favorite Mexican place.

By Paul Giorgio