Thanks to A. for the heads up and photo: Chopt, the salad chain founded 24 years ago in Union Square (I think they have dropped the apostrophe in the decades since), has taken the space in Independence Plaza just south of the new Starbucks at the end of Franklin.

The company was founded in 2001 in Union Square by New Yorkers Tony Shure and Colin McCabe and now has 22 locations in Manhattan, including one at Hudson Eats, one on Liberty and one at 1 New York Plaza down by The Battery; there are about 90 across the East Coast. There’s also a new in-store system where you use a touchscreen to place your order.

In 2020, Eater reported, the chain purchased Dos Toros Taqueria, and created Founders Table Restaurant Group — though they still operate as separate restaurant chains. Dos Toros was founded in 2009 by two native Californians and brothers, Leo and Oliver Kremer, also in Union Square. The takeover was funded by private equity firm L Catterton, which has invested in other food chains.