Find out what’s hot and what’s happening now in the Central Mass restaurant scene!

What a hot tomato. Belmont Street in Worcester will soon be home to a new informal restaurant. The Oliveri family – which owns Peppercorn’s in Worcester and Oli’s in West Boylston, among other ventures – will be opening Oli’s Tomato Pie. The pizza and sub shop will be at the site of the old D’Angelo’s on Belmont Street in Worcester. We hear the family will open others in the future. They will also be opening a gastro pub in Westborough. We will get you more details on that.

Speaking of restaurant families. The Sakart family, which owns the El Basha restaurants on Worcester’s Park Avenue and Belmont Street, as well as one in Westborough, is celebrating 25 years in business. This is a great immigrant story. The family came to Worcester from Lebanon and started a business that has lasted 25 years. How are they going to celebrate? They will be opening a fourth El Basha in Sudbury soon.

It’s not a mirage. We hear that work is progressing on the old Le Mirage restaurant at the corner of June and Chandler streets in Worcester. Richard and Diane George will open Dianna’s Neighborhood Bistro at the site. The restaurant will be BYOB. Look for a mid-March opening.

In other Worcester restaurant construction news. A whole host of new Worcester restaurants will be opening in the coming months. Here is update about some restaurants that we know about. Work on the Oak Barrel, which will replace Tweed’s on Worcester’s Grove Street, is progressing at a fast pace, and it will open in April. While we are on Grove Street, we can report that The Fix Burger Bar will open in May at the site of the former Northworks. Further up the street, Quinn’s is moving in along on West Boylston Street. This is in the space that once housed Banana Joe’s, a vegetable stand. The concept will be pub food. Lock 50, on Worcester’s Water Street, should open in the middle of this month. This decidedly upscale restaurant (based on the beautiful construction) will be a welcome addition to the Canal District.

Raise a new banner. Speaking of the Canal District, we hear that the Banner, a widely popular watering hole on Green Street, has been sold to Matt Ormond. Matt was born into the bar business. His father, Jackie, was the longtime owner of Bennie’s Café at the Summit.

What does a vintage pig get you? In this case, top honors at the Fork it Over fundraiser for the Girl Scouts. Figs & Pigs and Vintage Grille took the top honors for their savory and sweet recipes, which included Girl Scout cookies, in February. The judges picked Figs & Pigs’ Samoas-inspired Vietnamese Caramel Pork as the best savory dish and Vintage Grille’s Crème Anglaise Milkshake as the best sweet dish. Peppercorns came in second and won People’s Choice for its Samoas Shrimp Cake with Crispy Bacon and Grilled Pineapple. The second place sweet dish was Niche Hospitality’s Girl Scout Cannoli. Nine restaurants participated at the annual event, held at Worcester’s Beechwood Hotel.

By Paul Giorgio