Aura, a new restaurant/pub/event hall, has filed for a certificate of occupancy to take over a 3,200‑sq‑ft suite on Winchester Road; the application is under review.

William Chris filed state plans to convert a Main Street storefront into a roughly 5,000‑sqft Fredericksburg tasting room. The Hye winery’s downtown push is slated to begin this May with work targeting late‑August completion.

Mainlander moved up Euclid into a larger Central West End storefront and launched The Jujube Inn, a walk‑in, no‑tipping lounge that’s already reshaping the neighborhood night scene. The move was meant to protect the ticketed Supper Club while adding steady bar revenue.

California sandwich chain Mendocino Farms will open its first Chicago-area suburban restaurant in Vernon Hills Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.; My Mendo sign-ups get a free entrée.

Chick‑fil‑A Avalon Park opens this Thursday with a Moove‑In Party, a cow‑spot freebie and roughly 120 local jobs.

James Beard–winning chef Michael Rafidi will open Bizzeria in Georgetown this fall, spinning Yellow’s experimental pies into wood‑fired Levantine “bizzas.”

A new Potbelly at Kirkland Crossing opened April 3; the April 23 grand opening will give the first 50 guests free Potbelly for a year.

Zaxby's has signed a development agreement to open three to four Cincinnati-area restaurants as part of a wider Ohio expansion.

A new Graze Craze shop opened near Houston’s Memorial‑Galleria, selling made‑to‑order grazing boards, grab‑and‑go cups and catering for events.

Toast data show Michigan diners leave about 19.9% on card and digital payments, placing the state 14th nationally as the tipped minimum rose to $5.49.

State inspectors ordered stop‑sale and stop‑use at a Kendall 7‑Eleven after hot‑case and cold‑case foods measured far outside safe temperatures; many items were discarded and a reinspection is set for late April.

Renovations at 234 King Ave are turning the former Junior’s into a larger Bier Stube with a patio and salvaged fixtures. Owner Craig Kempton is working to preserve the bar’s character in the new space.

Snoop Dogg’s Dr. Bombay opened its first Venice Beach shop on the boardwalk, serving music‑themed scoops and drawing beachside crowds.