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

More local breweries. The trend to create more local breweries grew again this past month as Homefield Brewing opened at 3 Arnold Road in Sturbridge the first week of November. It features craft beer and cider on draft.

Who says you can’t have your pie and drink it too? Wormtown Brewery and Table Talk Pies have teamed up to create Table Talk Pumpkin Pie Ale. The beer was released Nov. 15, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. It is great to see these two iconic Worcester institutions teaming up. What is next? Maybe Coney Island Hotdog Ale or Spag’s Beer?

More hookah. The trend toward hookah bars continues in Worcester, with a new place set to open by Wal-Mart. Tarboush Hookah Lounge will open at 8 Blackstone River Road. This is in the heart of Quinsig Village.

It’s kind of unusual. The Usual, a restaurant and bar, opened Nov. 19 on Worcester’s Shrewsbury Street. This took over the space that once housed The Fix. The Usual will be a welcome addition to the Shrewsbury Street scene.

In more usual news. Husband and wife, Kevin Perry and Stacy Gala, who own The Usual, also bought Blackstone Tap on Worcester’s Water Street. They are planning to expand the kitchen and bring food to this popular Canal District watering hole. The changes will occur slowly until after The Usual is up and running.

Pepe has a new chef. Daniel Quiroa is the new chef at Pepe’s on Worcester’s Franklin Street. He formerly worked at Nuovo. In addition to a new chef, Pepe’s has also hired a new manager – Adam Fedele, who formerly worked at Tweeds. Pepe’s is a family restaurant that serves authentic Italian food and great pizza.

Bridge to Grill. The Grafton Grill opened in mid-November in the space that once housed The Bridge Street Bistro, a short-lived restaurant at 10 Bridge St. in North Grafton, just over the Worcester line. The Grafton Grill will serve American cuisine. The kitchen is manned by Welton Carmo and owned by Lori and Steve Belfiore.

Holiday gift idea. The Nonna Box is a unique holiday gift idea from NonnaBox.com. Each box features foods from a unique part of Italy with instructions on how to prepare the food. It is sort of like Blue Apron, but less complicated and more fun to make. Imagine receiving a Nonna Box (Italian for “grandmother”) every month. Visit nonnabox.com for details.

Is Chandler Street getting a new restaurant? The area of Chandler Street across Park Avenue in Worcester has seen a few new restaurants open recently. First came Dianna’s, then Antonio’s. We hear a new place may be opening at 372 Chandler St. The Nu Café is located there now. Could another new place be opening or will there be name change? Stay tuned.

By Paul Giorgio