By Paul Giorgio

Jimmy’s Tavern & Grill. Jimmy’s Tavern has opened in the space that once housed Bugaboo Creek in Shrewsbury’s White City Shopping Center. Gone are the talking moose and the wacky Christmas tree ~ In their place is an understated steak house that is family-friendly and affordable, specializing in steak , seafood and grill items. Jimmy’s is owned by Tony Karas and brothers Jimmy & Nick Miminos. The trio also owns Jimmy’s Steer House in Arlington and Jimmy’s Steer House on Route 1 in Saugus. They also own Prime Bar & Grill in Wayland on Route 20. Seems like they know what they’re doing.

Name change. It looks like the Tin Tin Buffet located on Park Ave at Webster Square has undergone a name change and a change in ownership. The new name is Rice Garden, but the set up is the same as before with a large buffet area.

Sakura Tokyo has reopened. Sakura Tokyo, the first Japanese restaurant in Worcester, has reopened after extensive renovations. They were closed for several months and reportedly spent over a million dollars renovating the space, which was the first in the area to feature Tepanaki tables.

Ole opens. Ole, a new Mexican restaurant which features homemade food at very affordable prices, opened in the middle of October. Ole is in the space that once housed Tom’s International Deli on Water Street, kitty corner across the street from Jose Murphy’s in Worcester’s Canal District.

Junior’s closes. Junior’s Restaurant, which has been on Shrewsbury Street for almost 10 years, recently closed its door. Junior’s was the perfect place to go in the summertime because of its a great outdoor patio. We hear that a few people are interested in reopening it.

Sushi Rock. It looks like a new restaurant is going to be opening in the space that was home to Ti NoVo and 55 Pearl.. The new place is Sushi Rock, located at Worcester’s 55 Pearl Street, right off of Main Street in the heart of downtown. Stay tuned for further details. The owners include Jacob Head and Frank Zirpolo. Zirpolo was involved for a while in the El Morocco restaurant after the Aboody family closed it down.

Pepe’s new expanded menu. Pepe’s Italian Restaurant on Franklin Street in Worcester has recently expanded their dinner menu to included several grill items as well as sauteed items including seafood fra diavolo and chicken Marsala. They have added almost a dozen new menu items and are booking parties for the holidays.

Joey’s opens. Joey’s Restaurant & Bar, formerly located for a number of years on Mill Street, took up its new residence on Chandler Street in Worcester, almost across the street from the post office. Joey’s, a long time dining hit on the city’s West Side, is owned by Joey and Erika Rovezzi. They moved into a space that formerly housed The Struck after it moved from the corner of June and Chandler Streets. The move may bring Joey’s closer to their clientele.

New Kid on the Block. Joseph Panerelli is opening a restaurant at 255 Park Ave., adjacent to Biaggio’s and across the street from El Basha. This little area of Park Ave. at the corner of Pleasant Street has quite a few restaurants ~ Blue Jeans and The Registry on one corner, Leitrim’s Pub across the street, and then further down Haiku, El Basha, and ~ on the opposite side of Park Ave. ~ Biaggio’s and Shiraz.