Empire Builders

Have you heard? SBE is expanding. All over. Here's what could be: Over the next five years SBE's king in command, Sam Nazarian, hopes to open up to 20 Katsuyas around the country, potentially 60 branches of Umami in "the right locations and the right markets," and six or seven Papaya Kings "a year for the next three or four years." He also dishes a bit on WeHo's soon-to-open Mercato di Vetro, explaining that "we’re putting the kitchen in the middle of the restaurant, where everything from the entrecote, to the mozzarella and salamis, to the pasta is being made." [NRN]