The Little Beet was founded in 2014 with a genuine mission around clean sourcing and gluten-free fast casual — but both founders left years ago and the brand is now fully owned by Eldridge Industries, a PE firm that also controls Le Pain Quotidien and California Pizza Kitchen. Becky Mulligan, a career Starbucks executive, has run it since 2018. The sourcing commitments are real; who The Little Beet answers to is not the founders or the community, but an expanding PE platform with a growing portfolio of restaurant brands.