Franklin Becker Plans Nomad-Area Little Beet; Les Halles Expands to Hell's Kitchen

Healthy chef and champion of gluten free things Franklin Becker is expanding his fast casual Little Beet empire with a location right near The Nomad, says a rep. By Eater's count, that puts the tally at four locations by this fall: the original, the random one that popped up with Aurify in a Long Island mall this year along, a second Midtown outlet due in August, and now this, which will serve healthy fare along Broadway sometime in the fall. In other fast casual news, D.C.'s veggie cult Sweetgreen is moving into a large corner space on the Upper West Side. And, incase you haven't noticed, we're also in the midst of a baguette invasion with French-import Maison Kayser in construction in the West Village and downtown Brooklyn.

Meanwhile, in the sit-down realm, former cooking home of Anthony Bourdain, Les Halles is planning a new location in Hell's Kitchen, rather close to Port Authority. DNAinfo spotted Philip Laujaunie, head of the Les Halles Group, on a liquor license application for a place he's calling Les Halles West. The expansion is a bit of a sleeper. It's been years since Les Halles opened a new restaurant in NYC, but this one seems just close enough to tourist central and theater world to maybe work.