Expect changes in the local dining scene this year.

As restaurant owners brace for another tough year financially, they are doing whatever they can to keep their doors open and their customers happy. Whether it's using more locally grown food, appealing to your sweet tooth or upping prices, changes are coming to your favorite restaurants.

With customers still mindful of their spending, coming up with something new and different to lure them in is even more important this year, said Tom Ferdinandi, past chairman of the California Restaurant Association and chief operating officer of the company that owns Me-n-Ed's Pizzerias.

"Restaurants are working hard to provide that new taste or that new look to capture the guest," he said.

Here's a closer look at some food trends happening here.

Locally grown food

One of the biggest trends capitalizes on consumers' concern over where their food comes from and what's in it.

More people are shopping at farmers markets and asking questions about pesticides and antibiotics in their food. A growing buy-local movement has consumers wanting to know whether their food is mass-produced or from a small, local farm.

Soon, consumers will get answers to those questions when they sit down at a restaurant, said Mike Shackelford, chef at the Clovis restaurant Trelio.

Using meat and produce from local producers are the top two trends for 2012 in a survey of 1,800 chefs by the American Culinary Federation -- and the Valley is no exception.

Local restaurant owners plan to take advantage of being located in one of the country's top fruit and vegetable growing regions by featuring more fresh, local and all-natural food on their menus, Shackelford said.

Some restaurants that focus on quality already do this, but more are expected to follow suit to appeal to diners concerned about what's on their plate.

Diners should expect to see more restaurants displaying local farm names in menu descriptions, Shackelford said.

Trelio already does this, touting Fresno State ice cream in its desserts, for example.

The trend applies to meats, too. The owner of Clovis' Victoria Rose Cottage Restaurant offers beef from Open Space Meats, which has ranches in Mariposa County, and chicken from Fresno County-based Mary's Free Range Chickens.

The restaurant uses local meat and vegetables whenever possible and includes a line about that on its menu, said chef and owner Nathan Lewis-Copeland, who grew up in Clovis.

"It's important to me because it's local," he said. "Why would I go and get beef from Oklahoma or Texas or anywhere else when we raise it here?"

As customers increasingly form attachments to local farms, the name on the menu will become a selling point, Shackelford said.

"My consumer, they want to know that I'm using local, fresh ingredients," he said. "They're going to buy it because they know it's quality. They know it's local. They know there's no hormones, pesticides, garbage in it."

A growing effort to connect local food makers to the public is helping things along. The Fresno Food Expo, conceived by Mayor Ashley Swearengin and sponsored by local food companies, is gearing up for its second show in March.

With up to 250 buyers to attend -- more than double last year's number -- it's likely that local food will soon arrive at Valley restaurants, Ferdinandi said.

Dessert explosion

Consumers are in the mood for sweets, and local businesses are taking advantage of the trend.

Cake is grabbing the spotlight at Giuseppe Gallo's Capo di Cucina, an Italian restaurant that opened last summer at Willow and Nees avenues.