Farshid Hakim plans to open a more ambitious branch of La Provence Patisserie & Café by Christmas on the third floor of Brentwood Gardens. The 2,500-square-foot space previously housed Mon Kee’s, and more recently, Tongdang Thai Kitchen.

“I’ve wanted to open another location for a few years now and when the opportunity came up for Brentwood, I thought it was the perfect match,” says Hakim. “We already have many clients from Brentwood and Malibu, they’ve asked for a long time for us to open one closer to that side of town. And the owners of the Brentwood Gardens are longtime customers and have wooed us for years, so when a space became available, it just felt right.”

Hakim is also an accomplished antique dealer/collector, so he plans to feature vintage French cabinets and floral chairs in his glass-fronted space, along with an 18th century Chrystal chandelier from Paris. An outdoor patio will overlook buzzing San Vicente Boulevard.

As for the differences from the Beverly Hills original, Hakim said, ““Brentwood will be somewhat bigger and we’ll be open for dinner. We will also be able to serve nice wines and beers. The menu will basically be the same except for some additional items such as lamb chops, fresh fish, homemade hamburgers along with some fun appetizers.” La Provence will brew Intelligentsia coffee and tea.

“We’re actually working on a new menu for Beverly Hills as well,” says Hakim. “This is something I do every two years to spice it up a bit.”