We know Reading and North Reading residents don’t just stay in town when they want a night out and a break from cooking.

Restaurant coming and goings, new business and the best dishes and recipes are among the items that have appeared on area Patch sites over the past month.

Below is a look at the restaurant and food stories local Patch sites have covered over the past month. Read through our round up for the latest food news in the area.

READING-NORTH READING

The Green Tomato celebrated 10 years in Reading on July 25. To thank customers, the restaurant will be serving free samples of new and regular items on their menu.

According to Owner John Ryan there will be a tent outside on July 25 from noon to 6 p.m. with samples and free drinks.

A roasted beet salad, butternut bisque with fresh crabmeat and shrimp and a grilled veggie sandwich are just some of the new menu items customers can try on their anniversary.

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Reading resident Jerry Pothier, Medford resident Camille Bardaro and Boxford resident Caitlan Douglas Merullo will open Zinga!, a self-serve yogurt shop, on 30 Haven St. in August.

The self-serve concept allows you to choose exactly how much fro-yo you want, and you pay by the ounce. Try every flavor, or just one and then cover your yogurt with as many toppings as you'd like. 

"We are truly excited to be bringing a quality franchise like Zinga! to Reading," Pothier said. "We hope and trust that the community will embrace this new business and help us succeed. We look forward to many years of serving our community with his healthy and delicious product."

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The Hot Spot Café has re-opened for business. Regular Hot Spot customer Jerry Costa, CEO of JT Costa, LLC, acquired the business last month from its original owner Anna “Ace” Foulds. 

Stop by the café on Saturday from now until Labor Day for a free treat with the purchase of a coffee or fresh baked item. 

NORTH ANDOVER

Smolak Farms got an unexpected demolition.

On July 20, after the business was closed, someone was backing out of a space, but she had the car in "drive" instead of "reverse."

The result was her car crashing through the wall of the bakery/shop.

There were no injuries in the accident, although the car went through the wall where the fudge was so there was a loss of fudge and some of the penny candies.

Smolak Farms is still open for business.

WILMINGTON 

Mary Buscone’s business is still several weeks away from opening its doors. But it’s not difficult to predict that Wilmington’s newest ice cream shop will be well-received in the community.

“I think I get 20 messages a day asking when we’re opening,” said Buscone, the owner of Fro-Yo to Go, which will open on August 11. “It’s been no secret that we’re coming to town.”

Fro-Yo to Go, located in the Square One Plaza at 2 Lowell Street, will provide 12 flavors of self-serve frozen yogurt along with a variety of topping choices. Customers fill their own cup and can do so with multiple flavors if they desire before hitting the toppings bar.

Self-serve frozen yogurt shops are popular as they pop up around the country. But Wilmington’s location is not a part of a chain, and brings a local flavor thanks to its owner.

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Making burgers isn’t the only talent Paul Malvone, Sebastian Fricia and Chuck Sillari have. They’re also pretty good at reaching high expectations.

When the trio of locals, Malvone and Fricia are from Wilmington and Sillari is from Wakefield, opened Boston Burger Company in Somerville three years ago, they set a pair of goals.

The trio wanted to be featured on New England culinary television program “Phantom Gourmet” within a year, and they wanted to be on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” within five years.

It took the restaurant owners just months to achieve their first goal. And by this fall, the group will be able to say they achieved their second goal as well.

PEABODY

The Cabaret Lounge and Carrabba's Italian Grill have each been slapped with three-day suspensions of their liquor licenses by the city Licensing Board.

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The two establishments were among a group of six to appear before the board on June 25 after having failed a random alcohol compliance check (or sting) on May 23 by Peabody police and undercover operatives.

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In each case, an underage customer -- one of the operatives -- was sold a beer without being asked for an ID.

Maki Sushi, Martino's Liquors, Fuji Sushi and Royal Garden all had a first offense and were issued a warning and encouraged to train their employees if they hadn't done so already, but both the Cabaret and Carrabba's had violations within the past year as well.

And at Carrabba's, both the manager on duty that day and the managing partner for the Peabody operation lost their jobs in addition to the bartender.

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Oliveira's Steak House won't have to close after all, according to attorney John Keilty.

Keilty said that his clients, the new owners of the Brazilian restaurant and bar, were able to obtain an indefinite court injunction that will keep the establishment open for business for as long as it takes to have the new management of Oliveira's approved by liquor licensing authorities at both the local and state levels.

The Peabody Licensing Board, in June, gave Oliveira's up to 90 days from July 1 to file proper forms with the city and state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, identifying who the corporate officers and manager of record are or else lose the license permanently. And that documentation had to be approved first by the ABCC within that same time period.