Restaurant updates

Chef Rachel Klein is leaving Om in Harvard Square, effective just about immediately -- she says her last day is today, co-owner Bik Yonjan says Sunday. Both parties agree, however, that the split is amicable. "We have decided to go in a slightly different direction," Yonjan says. It sounds as though that direction is mostly price-related: The style of the food won't change much, he says, but it will cost less. That's a neat trick if you can pull it off.

A new chef has not yet been named. Sous chef Mike Madden will take the helm while the decision's being made.

As for Klein, she says she's looking into opening her own place, maybe in Newton Center or the Theater District. The concept's still a secret, but, Klein says, "it hasn't really been done here." She's aiming for something affordable and fairly big where she can create a community feeling. As for the food, "it will be like Om, but it will be better. It'll be me."

***

Banq, in the Penny Savings Bank building in the South End, now looks to open the second week of January. (The floor will likely be poured this week.) The French-with-world-influences spot from Hemant Chowdhry and Mark Raab will be headed up by Ranveer Brar, former executive chef of the Claridges hotel in New Delhi.