NEW BEDFORD — Boston Burrito, Sail Loft, What's Cookin and Profile Tavern are among several restaurants to open this year in the New Bedford area. With restaurants changing ownership, expansion plans, reopenings, dining room facelifts and new hot spots starting construction, this year has been quite the scene for foodies in the SouthCoast.

Rescue Cafe launched with a food truck on Titleist Drive in Acushnet in February and is now moving to its own brick-and-mortar location 414 Main St., in Fairhaven. The café serves muffins, yogurt parfaits, brownies, doughnuts from New Bedford's USA Homemade Donuts and dog treats from Westport's J C Wagmore All Natural Dog Treats.

Rescue Cafe wasn't the only new food truck to pop-up in New Bedford. Kiyla's Korner, a food truck serving an assortment of specialized hot dogs and other treats, open on Cove Road and Osbourne Street.

"If we were going to do hot dogs, we had to do a menu of them," said owner David Bizarro. The menu features dogs such as the BLT dog, pizza dog and a Coney Island-inspired dog.

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Japanese fare

Chef William Foley, owner of Brock Avenue's new boutique sushi bar Yozakura Japanese Kitchen is offering New Bedford a taste of Japanese cuisine. With a full pantry of Japanese foods, Foley can make anything on (and off) the menu for his guests and he wants diners to feel like they've been transported to Japan.

In June, What's Cookin opened in New Bedford offering fun and unique dishes paired with a homey, comfortable atmosphere. "We just want the best service, the best food, the best atmosphere," said Colton Soares, co-owner with Jason Brooks.

The main menu features several breakfast combos such as "The Hangover," which is two eggs with bacon, sausage, ham, hash browns and cheddar cheese served with a bagel.

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They also have a Bananas Foster french toast, which is three slices of bread topped with homemade caramel rum sauce and whipped cream, fresh bananas and powdered sugar.

Young owners open new hotspots

The 20-year-old co-owners of Boston Burrito started testing out their product in a ghost kitchen and have now opened their first restaurant. "We loved burritos. And we love Mexican food. And we're like, I want to make burritos the way I like them," said Jack Fernandes, co-owner with Michael Moujabber, who he's been friends with since second grade.

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This year, Monica Ferracioli opened Sorbae Frozen Treats in Fort Taber. The popsicles are influenced by Ferracioli's Brazilian heritage. The Açai popsicle is a frozen version of a smoothie bowl — sweetened with strawberries, bananas and agave and topped with cacao nibs, coconut flakes and peanut butter.

Mimi's Kitchen

On the flip side, a grandmother of seven grandchildren opened Mimi's Kitchen on Nauset Street in April.

"I like meeting people and being able to serve them. I loved feeding people even before this. I don't know how to cook small amounts of food. So I always fed my whole family," said owner Tara Gordon of the breakfast and lunch spot.

Taking over and reopening old places

In May 2022, Jay Lanagan and his team opened Profile Tavern in East Freetown in the building formerly occupied by The Nephews restaurant.

"We have big shoes to fill," said Lanagan. "The Nephews was an institution in Freetown that generations of people frequently visited."

Aside from the shape of the bar and a few wooden booths, Lanagan gave restaurant's interior a major facelift, transforming it from classic Italian to a modern farmhouse style.

In June, The Black Whale and Cisco Kitchen + Bar owner Stephen Silverstein reopened the Sail Loft in Padanaram.

Upon taking over the Sail Loft, Silverstein decided the building needed a complete restructure including higher ceilings, new windows and a refurbished deck. "The ambiance in here is different than my other restaurants," Silverstein said. "You can do all your calculations and expectations. But you don't really know until you get inside and open up to get what's going on."

In December, after a year of renovations, Freestones City Grill reopened. “We've always loved just what Freestones stood for — it was a pillar of everything,” said Al Peters, the new co-owner with Pat Long and Howie Mallowes.

Long, who remembered as a teenager visiting Freestones frequently with his family, said he would play a Pac Man arcade game in the downstairs area. He said he hopes to bring that back, too. “Coming here, whether it was Christmas Eve or any big events, this was the launching pad,” he said.

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Restaurants expand all over the city

Several restaurants announced expansion plans. In February, Tia Maria's Europeans Cafe announced it would be expanding its dining area into the next building (originally The Drawing Room) to accommodate its high demand for parties and events.

"I always have to have goals, whether they're short term or long term goals," said Jessica Arruda, owner, adding that she was eyeing the next door space as it became available for sale on and off the past four years.

PLAY arcade also expanded into another room in March. The popular old-school arcade in the downtown area has added more retro games to its collection after opening a new game room section. New arcade games include the "Star Wars" trilogy that came out in the late 90s, skee-ball, and a "Fast and Furious" motion cabinet racing game.

Making more room for guests

In March, the bubble tea shop BesTeas on Pleasant Street celebrated its second year anniversary with a major renovation to help enhance the corner store's flow. The room includes a few more places to sit including a couch, a neon pink "BesTeas" light to take the perfect selfie and more plants displayed around the room.

In June, Moby Dick's Brewing Co. also joined in on the expanding fun with plans to create a function room that will not only serve well for private events, but also offer an opportunity to host indoor events throughout the year — including adding a big projector screen for potential movie nights or "Football Sunday" events.

"We are very excited about this new opportunity for our guests," said David Slutz, president of Moby Dick Brewing Company Inc. "We've had many requests to rent out the restaurant for events, and we've been saying no forever. The ability to say yes, going forward, will make everybody smile."

Pasta House becomes Bocca

Another well-known restaurant to get a major facelift was The Pasta House in Fairhaven. In October, the popular Italian dining establishment on Alden Road announced it was changing its name to Bocca and undergoing major renovations.

"It's a great name, but we're more than just pasta," said Mario Ribeiro, 46, owner of the modern Italian and seafood restaurant on Alden Road. "I've been here long enough and it was finally time for a change."

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Businesses expand to new locations

Longstanding businesses such as Farm & Coast Market and Mirasol's Cafe opened up in new parts of the SouthCoast this year.

After sitting vacant for almost a decade, the old Friendly's on Dartmouth Street is being leased by Farm & Coast Market as a new production and catering kitchen.

Food Network celebrity chef Jet Tila tasing a Chipi wasn't the only exciting news for Mirasol's Cafe. On July 4, the cafe opened an express location at Pier 3 in New Bedford across from The Black Whale and Acushnet Creamery.

Restaurants that closed across the city

In June 2022, four restaurants in New Bedford abruptly announced closure citing issues with landlords or personal reasons. The biggest surprise was The Whaling City Diner. Cafe Italia Ristorante, Juice'd Cafe and The Vault Music Hall (which used to be known as Greasy Luck) announced on their respective Facebook pages they would also be shutting down indefinitely.

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Long standing restaurants change ownership

In March, Pour Farm Tavern changed ownership to Jen Cardoza and her husband, Brad Cardoza. "The heart and soul will still be the same," Jen Cardoza said.

"Anything we're doing is just going to help to elevate it. We're not going to take away any of the aspects that people love."

Since 2008, Pour Farm Tavern has been "pouring" craft beers from its 24 taps. "This place is something special and nothing else in New Bedford has that," Cardoza said strongly. "Everything that's happened in downtown has kind of helped this evolve and grow, too," Cardoza said.

Upon celebrating its 30th anniversary, Dillon's Restaurant announced on Sept. 5 it was changing ownership to Melissa Cormier, a longtime fan and cook.

"I've gone to Dillon's my whole entire life," Cormier said. "I still can't fathom how I pulled this off. And it's still not real to me, I don't think."

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New restaurants opening in 2023

A new café is in the works to open at the former Me & Ed's Family Restaurant location on Brock Avenue.

"Want to make the South End feel like it's theirs," said Bryan C. Moniz, owner of Cafe Taber, which plans to open by the beginning of the new year.

Moniz, originally from the South End, said he wants to keep the "Taber" name to represent the area as a main theme for his new restaurant on the corner of Brock Avenue and Seymour Street.

Cafe Taber will serve breakfast and lunch only, and brunch on the weekends. It will also have a bar downstairs.

After closing in 2019, the historic Kruger Brothers Ship Supply building will become a restaurant named after the iconic family.

"It's really the last piece of the puzzle for lower Union Street," said Jay P. Lanagan, co-owner of the new eatery. "The entire block will be developed for the first time in 100 years."

Now the plan is to convert the 2,800 square-foot, one-story building, into a bar and dining area, potentially to be an upscale fried seafood spot.

The restaurant has not yet started construction, but it slated to be complete by the end of 2023.

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Lafrance Hospitality is currently opening a new restaurant in the former National Club Pub in downtown New Bedford. Additionally, Franklin Hospitality Group is working on a residential concept along with some retail options in the space.

The first floor area is under consideration to become a restaurant managed by Stephen Silverstein's group, according to Georgia McDonald, development manager for the preservation nonprofit WHALE.

Silverstein, who said he isn't yet ready to share all the details, said they are still discussing the lease. However, if there was a restaurant in the works, it would not open until the end of 2023.

"There is a horserace going on downtown," said Silverstein in a previous Standard-Times article. "People have recognized the historic district of New Bedford is going through a significant change.... I truly believe it's just a matter of time until it's almost completely out of play."

Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at schitwood@s-t.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Boston Burrito, Sail Loft, What's Cookin and Profile Tavern open