Café Pamplona, which closed in May 2020 after six decades in Harvard Square, is inspiring another business not far away: Faro Café at 5 Arrow St., which owner Henry Hoffstot hopes to have open in late June or early July.

North Point will be the new home of Passage to India as of dinnertime Wednesday, owner Narinder Guhania said Tuesday, and its former longtime Porter Square restaurant space will go dark for at least a while.

Part of the Main Street eatery portfolio that includes high-end Italian spots Sulmona and Amelia’s Trattoria, Mex can be different things depending when you arrive and what you’re looking for: Come late for a club ambiance, come early for the casual taco cafe or chill tequila bar aura.

The family-run Turkish eatery Lavash Bar & Grille is in a soft opening on New Street with dishes from a classic shish kebabs, islak burger and iskender to mezes such as manti dumplings, sigara borek cheese snacks and kibbeh of ground lamb so perfect and neat it feels like a crime to bite into one.

New life has been breathed into some establishments that looked like they might become part of the Covid R.I.P. list: The People’s Republik became New Republik and The Thirsty Scholar has reopened.

Grafton Street has relocated and reopened within Harvard Square, replacing a sister restaurant called Park at 59 JFK St.

In the North Massachusetts Avenue locale known as Trolley Square, named for its proximity to an MBTA bus depot, seven diverse eateries serve the community with fare ranging from Chinese, sushi, Ethiopian, Greek and Mediterranean to basic bar food, American fine dining and pizza slices.

The Newtowne Grille, a staple of Porter Square back to 1966, closes permanently Saturday, but its space is expected to be filled eventually by a new Asian concept from its next-door neighbors, the Sugar & Spice Thai restaurant.

Central Square is always a busy place, even more so during weekend brunch hours with midday winners such as the old-school classic Brookline Lunch; the retro-hip newcomer Donut Villa Diner; and the classy sit-down experience of Vialé.

True to its word, The Friendly Toast is coming back to Cambridge – but to Harvard Square, not Kendall Square – as soon as this spring.