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KEVIN GUTTING

Daniel Martinez, left, gets a hand from Scott Houle of Whately with a delivery of chairs to the new bistro.

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KEVIN GUTTING

Elizabeth and Daniel Martinez plan to open a new French restaurant, Bistro Les Gras, this Friday on West Street in Northampton.

NORTHAMPTON - A Manhattan-trained chef and his wife are preparing to open a French bistro later this month near Smith College.

Daniel and Elizabeth Martinez are adapting the former Cuisine du Soleil spot at 25 West St. to fit the needs of a new 37-seat restaurant, bar and accompanying deli.

The restaurant, called Bistro Les Gras, is expected to open May 23, with six employees.

Elizabeth Martinez, a city native, describes the restaurant as a classic French bistro that will have a moderately priced, changing menu. A frequently rotating menu will enable the restaurant to highlight meats and vegetables from some of the area's smaller farms.

"We want to offer the freshest products and take advantage of what New England has to offer," she said. "We'll always have signature dishes, but the accompaniments will change depending on the season."

Martinez said she and her husband have a passion for French food, which she said doesn't have to be heavy and rich. She said the bistro will offer hearty portions.

"The French get a bad reputation for their food being heavy and rich. It can be light and fantastic," she said.

Bistro Les Gras, which means "the fat," as in culinary fat, also will include a small deli area where local and international artisan cheeses and cured meats will be sold, along with takeout meals.

While several restaurateurs have opened and closed in the Green Street area, including the site the Martinezes are sprucing up, they have faith in the location.

Martinez said the spot is within waking distance of downtown and parking is free in the Smith garage after 5 p.m., when the restaurant opens. Most important, she believes the bistro's food and atmosphere will draw people. "People used to come to Green Street. It's a lot easier to get them to come back than it is to get them to go to a new spot," she said. "I think people will come."

Aside from constructing the bar and a handicapped-accessible bathroom, the two are completing much of the interior renovation of the 1,800-square-foot restaurant themselves. That includes a new paint job and tile flooring.

Daniel Martinez, 28, says he is excited about returning to his roots as a chef, after several years working in restaurant management. "It will be fun to be back in the kitchen," he said. "I started young in the kitchen and then bumped up to management fast."

Martinez began his career in the restaurant business at age 15 and later graduated from Institute of Culinary Education in New York. He worked for the New York City Restaurant Group, which owns several restaurants in New York. Most recently, he was an executive chef for a restaurant in Portland, Ore., where Elizabeth worked as a server and bartender.

Elizabeth Martinez, 29, has worked in the restaurant business in various capacities for years, and studied the hospitality industry at Cornell University.

Bistro Les Gras will hold an open house May 29, a week after its "soft" opening. The restaurant will be open Sundays and Tuesday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. It will be closed Mondays.

Cuisine du Soleil closed last June after serving Mediterranean food for three years. The space was formerly occupied by The Grotto, which closed in 2002, and the North Star Restaurant.

Chad Cain can be reached at ccain@gazettenet.com.