By Paul Giorgio

Movin’ on up.
Joey’s Bar and Grille, a fixture on Worcester’s Mill Street, will be moving to 344 Chandler Street in the space that once housed The Struck . Owners Joey and Erin Rovezzi hope to have their new and larger restaurant open by late October. Joey’s has a lively bar scene and great food. With the opening of Joey’s, the West Side of Worcester is finally getting more of the restaurants it deserves. We reported last month that Café Espresso is also moving to Chandler Street. It will be diagonally opposite the new Joey’s Bar & Grille.

Speaking of Chandler Street.
Worcester House of Pizza has taken over the space that was occupied for a brief time by the Firewood Café at 222 Chandler Street. This primo location is near Clark and Worcester State University.

Mai Tai opens.
Mai Tai opened in the middle of September on Worcester’s Green Street in the heart of the Canal District. They offer a limited menu of Chinese appetizers and sushi.

Just like Shangri La.
A new oasis of dining will open shortly in downtown Worcester. Shangri La, a Chinese restaurant featuring Szechuan and Cantonese cooking as well as a full sushi bar, will open in the space that housed Ping’s Garden for over twenty years. Owner Eric Giang hopes to have the renovations completed for a November opening. Giang and his partner own Peach Garden in Quincy and C.J. Cuisine in Randolph. In addition to food, they will offer a full bar, DJs and karaoke.

Worcester runs on Dunkin.
Word has it that John Battista, owner of most of the Dunkin Donut franchises in Central MA, recently purchased the former Edward Buick building on Worcester’s Shrewsbury Street. Our spies tell us that he is planning to open an upscale Italian restaurant and pizzeria. Plans call for him to import a large wood-fired pizza oven from Italy. The new restaurant will be directly across the street from VIA.

In other Shrewsbury Street news.
The Parkway Diner, which has undergone extensive renovations and is now called the Parkway Restaurant & Bar, will be offering outdoor dining. The dining room has been completely redone and numerous large flat screens have been added.

Finding Holden.
Ethan’s Family Restaurant recently opened in the space that housed La Bussola and, before that, The Jefferson House. The eatery is owned by Johnson Joseph, who also serves as chef. The menu is American and family-friendly.

86 86ed.
86 Winter Street an American Bistro ~ located at 65 Water Street in Worcester’s Canal District ~ closed in the middle of September. No further information was available.

New menu at the Rhino.
Chef Mark Hawley has changed the menu at Shrewsbury Street’s Flying Rhino Café. His semi -annual change includes a few healthy items ~ “Woo Food” ~ collaborated upon by three last year medical students. These are healthy alternatives on the menu, including some older grains like brown and black rice and faro as starches. Additionally, there will be more seasonal items. Entrees include short ribs with red wine sauce over butternut orzo, sirloin au poivre, veal osso bucco over mushroom risotto, and a Statler chicken breast over faro.