What’s hot and what’s happening now in the restaurant scene around Central Massachusetts.

PARK IT OVER HERE. The Park Grill on Worcester’s Park Avenue was sold recently. The new owners are no strangers to the restaurant business. Eric Pearson, who formerly owned Pinecroft Dairy and the 1790 House in Westborough, is the new owner.

NEW ON SHREWSBURY STREET. It looks like, after several years of being vacant, the spot once occupied by Café Dolce on Worcester’s Shrewsbury Street will have a new tenant. Valentino’s Café, Deli & Market will open soon. Café Dolce was a Shrewsbury Street mainstay, serving up espresso, cappuccino, deserts and after-diner drinks for years.

MAKING LEMONADE OUT OF LEMONS. When the pipes burst in the space next to Café Manzi on Worcester’s Shrewsbury Street, the popular breakfast and lunch spot was forced to close. Well, Brian Manzi will be doing breakfast at the Vintage Grille a few doors down from his place. He will also be adding some of his best-selling lunch items to the menu. I guess that’s the Shrewsbury Street way – helping each other out.

NOT JUST FOR THE UPPER CRUST. The owners of Crust Bakeshop in Worcester recently announced they have sold their downtown bakery to one of their employees. Owners Alec Lopez and Sherri Sadowski sold their bakery to Alexis Kelleher, Crust’s lead baker and store manager since spring 2016. As of right now, Kelleher plans to keep things as they are. Lopez and Sadowski also own the Dive Bar on Green Street and Armsby Abbey, which is just a stone’s throw away from Crust on Main Street. BTW, Kelleher’s family has a long history in the restaurant business. They own Coney Island – a Worcester landmark.

THE QUEEN OF HEARTS BAKED MORE THAN TARTS. Worcester residents will have one more option to get their dessert fix this summer. The Queen’s Cups, a Millbury-based gourmet cupcake shop, is moving to the Canal District. Owner Renee King is rehabbing the old Bucky’s Garage at 56 Water St.

NOT ALICE’S RESTAURANT, BUT CLOSE. Alicia’s Homemade will open by the beginning of March, creating a whole new future for the Plantation Street neighborhood, according to its press release. “Our new space on 12 Aitchison St. is going to offer up a little bit of everything and really embrace the homemade style,” said Alicia Haddad, co-owner of Alicia’s Homemade. “Everything we are selling will be part of the ‘shop small’ concept. We will have granola and coffee from local sellers, alongside brands like Elk Creek Maple Syrup and, of course, Alicia’s Homemade.”

ON A WING AND A PRAYER. A new wing chain, Native Grill & Wings, a Midwest franchise, is moving east with its first location at 111 Sutton Ave. in Oxford. Interestingly enough, the franchise has been around since 1979. It will serve pizza also. How can you beat a chicken wing pizza?

PIZZA ON THE CORNER. It looks like the reported demise of the much loved Corner Grille on Worcester’s West Side may be wrong. Workers have been working overtime to get the place ready to re-open after it was damaged during the fall flooding. According to Facebook, an early March reopening is planned.

By Paul Giorgio