Twin Cities restaurants Bellecour Bakery, Falafel King in expansion mode

Changes are afoot in chef Gavin Kaysen's restaurants, starting with an expansion of Bellecour Bakery at Cooks.

The bakery's popular collaboration with Cooks of Crocus Hill in Minneapolis (210 N. 1st St., bellecourbakery.com) will be replicated at Cooks' St. Paul location (877 Grand Av.), and is scheduled to open this summer.

"Our goal is early June," said Cooks of Crocus Hill co-owner Karl Benson. "But we're not announcing a date because we can't get equipment. That's the current story of the industry."

The plan is to start with grab-and-go pastries and coffee, served on the store's main floor.

Benson said that the move is taking Cooks back to its roots, when its founder, the late Martha Kaemmer, included a deli when she moved the store and cooking school to its current Grand Avenue location nearly 30 years ago.

"It was the first espresso bar in St. Paul," said Benson. "Martha was so far ahead of her time that it didn't work. She felt that she was the only person who bought espresso. No one else knew what it was, and she said, 'I'm not going to operate an espresso bar when I'm the only customer.' So we're going right back to where Martha started."

A patio on the store's front yard is a future possibility.

"We'd like to have outdoor seating, but that's another hurdle," said Benson. "Everyone who is working from home is putting in a patio, and contractors are booked for the summer. And it's slightly beyond my DeWalt Tools capacity to put in a blue stone patio."

With the expansion comes some key personnel changes. Alexandra Motz has been promoted to pastry chef at Spoon and Stable (211 N. 1st St., Mpls., spoonandstable.com), and Diane Moua, who previously held that post, advances to pastry chef of Bellecour Bakery at Cooks, where she will focus on developing the Bellecour Bakery concept and look for growth opportunities.

Motz and Moua, who both have spent time in the city's top restaurants, joined Spoon and Stable for its opening in 2014 after working together at La Belle Vie. Moua has twice been a finalist for the Best Pastry Chef James Beard Award. "It's rewarding to see someone you've mentored grow into their own," Moua said of Motz. "Mentorship is a huge part of the culture here and I'm excited for us both in these new roles."

In addition to a rotating selection of baked goods, Bellecour Bakery serves up salads, sandwiches, soups, quiches and more.

In other expansion news, Falafel King is expanding its kingdom to Brooklyn Center.

The longtime fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant is converting a former Tim Hortons (5500 Brooklyn Blvd.) into its third location — and the first with a drive-through. The family-owned restaurant will continue to serve gyros, kebabs, shawarma and hummus plates, and the Brooklyn Center location will offer a large selection of Mediterranean pastries and traditional foods, too.

Falafel King operates restaurants in Bloomington and Minneapolis, a food truck, plus a booth at the State Fair.

Saeed Masroujeh, who continues to run the business started by his father, Fouad Masroujeh, more than 40 years ago, said he's ready to grow the company again (there were four locations at the company's peak) and would like to open three to four new Falafel Kings within the next year.