By Paul Giorgio

Chains in Westboro.  Two new chain restaurants will soon be opening in Westboro.  Not Your Average Joe’s will be opening at the site of the former Applebee’s on Route 9 at 291 Turnpike Road and will feature outdoor seating.  The chain has about a dozen locations throughout the state. Chipotle, a Mexican themed chain, is also seeking to open on Route 9 at Oak Street.

Juniors.  Widely known for its pizza and outdoor patio, Junior’s restaurant on Worcester’s Shrewsbury Street is now serving breakfast Thursday, Friday & Saturday.  They also have a new chef.  Maybe he likes to get up early.

Clinton goes Italian. Via Alto 27, owned by Christiana Ernst and her husband, opened in Clinton the first week of April.  Christiana is from Rome but now lives in Clinton, her husband’s home town.  The restaurant offers “real” Italian food and is open 6 days a week for lunch and dinner.  They make their own pasta, bread and desserts.  The eatery has a wine and beer license for now.  Via Alto is open from11 am until 11pm, closed on Sunday.  Via Alto 27 is Italian for 27 High Street ~ the town’s main thoroughfare.  978-598-7002

Hamilton Diner opens.  Worcester’s Hamilton Street recently saw the opening of the Hamilton Diner.  Well, it’s really not a diner, but a restaurant owned by Robson Floriano and Leonardo Sylva, two émigrées from Brazil who met each other while working at Dino’s Ristorante.  According to reports, they serve great Italian comfort food.  Hamilton Diner is open every day from 11 am until 10PM and it is BYOB.

Jumpin’. Jumpin’ Juice & Java, a coffee and juice bar, will be opening shortly at the site of the former Tatnuck Bookseller on Chandler Street in Worcester.  The franchise concept was launched in 1996 and is well know for its coffees and smoothies. The only other MA locations of the national chain are in Gardner and Leominster.

Buddha Hut opens.  Buddha Hut, a vegetarian restaurant opened, in the space on Chandler Street in Worcester that formerly housed Two Cousins pasta and before that the Struck Café.

A sure sign of summer.  The opening of. Ronnie’s Clam Shack in Auburn is a truer harbinger of spring than seeing a robin.  Once Ronnie’s is open, you know that summer is just around the corner.  We are happy to report that Ronnie’s on Route 20 is now open for business.

Another sign of summer.  Three new Worcester restaurants have applied for outdoor dining permits.  They are Shrewsbury Street’s Mezcal and Allgos and Park Avenue’s Baba.

G’vanni’s Ristorante update. G’vanni’s Ristorante, located in the space that formerly housed TiNoVo on Worcester’s Pearl Street, will be opening in the middle of May.  The owners of the restaurant decided to expand the outdoor seating area, causing a short delay.

Millbrook to Barber’s.  It appears that after years of searching, Barber’s Crossing, once a mainstay in Worcester’s Greendale area, has found a new home.  According to a source familiar with the negotiations, John Wallace, owner of the Barber’s Crossings, will soon take over the Millbrook Diner on Millbrook Street in Worcester.  This will complete a four year search by Wallace to find a new home in Worcester.