Use your noodle. Noodles & Company will open its first Massachusetts location next month in Shrewsbury in the White City Shopping Center, 50 Boston Turnpike. Noodles & Company is a popular eatery, serving noodles, sandwiches, salads and soups inspired by cuisines from around the globe. The menu has a great variety of options that are all freshly made to order. Plans for a second and third location are set for Burlington (May) and Nashua, N.H. (June), respectively.

Mi casa, su casa. Casa Villarta will open shortly in Northborough on Route 9 in the space that formerly housed the Celtic Tavern. We hear that the owners also own Cancun’s in Grafton. The building was recently repainted in a bright palette of colors

The pot is hot. Chuan Shabu, Wilson Wang’s newest venture, recently opened on Worcester’s Park Avenue, next door to his other restaurant, Baba. The concept behind the restaurant is communal dining, cooking vegetables and protein in a hot pot of broth. The combination of choices and broth make for unique flavors. Wang said this style of eating is very popular throughout China.

Happy 40th. Tatnuck Meat Market is celebrating its 40th year in business. Located at 1100 Pleasant St. in the heart of Tatnuck Square and owned by Harvey Slakey, Tatnuck has changed with the times. A few years ago, its name changed to Tatnuck Meat & Seafood Market. Personal service is its hallmark.

Eat your broccoli. Worcester’s VegFest will take place from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, April 6, at Worcester’s DCU Center. Admission is free. Visit worcestervegfest.com for details.

Spring is here. How can you tell that spring has finally arrived? It’s not by the weather. The true sign of spring is the sign at Ronnie’s Seafood says, “Now Hiring.” Always a good sign.

News from Webster. It appears that Mexicali Fresh Mex will open a restaurant in Webster soon. It will open near the Price Chopper Plaza on the site of the former Webster Nursery.

More Webster news. Our South County spy tells us that Michael’s Italian Kitchen has closed. No further information is available, but the restaurant ~ right off of Route 395 ~ had a great location.

While in South County. If you are in southern Worcester County, try Oxford’s Casual Dining, which has great food. Owned by the Daddah family, which formerly owned a diner in Worcester’s Quinsig Village, the eatery recently started having live music.

Whiskey Wednesday. If you are ever looking for something to do on a Wednesday night, check out Whiskey Wednesdays at Julio’s Liquors in Westborough at 7 p.m. The event is always hosted by store owner Ryan Maloney, a true Scotch enthusiast. By the way, the tastings are not limited to Scotch, but include a variety of whisk(e)ys from Ireland and Canada, as well.

By Paul Giorgio