After 117 Years, LA Is Losing Its Oldest Restaurant. Here's The History Of What It Leaves Behind

Walking into Cole's French Dip in downtown L.A. is as dredged in history as the French dip sandwiches the restaurant purportedly invented to help soften crusty bread for a customer with weak teeth. Sadly, though, the restaurant, which opened its doors in 1908 under the name Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet, aka The Red Car Bar (for the railcar building it was located in), has recently announced that it will be closing on August 3, 2025, with its last day open being August 2. Though the restaurant's signature sandwich — made with quality meat and 12-hour braised au jus – and its famed old fashioned are certainly worth visiting for, the place (which claims to be L.A.'s oldest continuously-operating restaurant) is much more than its self-proclaimed title of the "Originators of the French Dip."

The long-standing watering hole's closure comes as a historic loss to the community, and all who have visited the preserved vintage space full of leather booths, mahogany wood finishings, and stained glass. A key meeting place for L.A.'s most eclectic characters, screenwriters, and artists, Cole's was named a historic landmark site in 1974, and certainly boasts the memory of those who've frequented the restaurant and bar. Take, for instance, the table where the city's famous gangster, Mickey Cohen, regularly sat at, or the bathroom plaques commemorating the fact that the mobster, as well as prominent writers such as Charles Bukowski, graced the place. And not to be forgotten are the entertainment classics Cole's has appeared in, including "NYPD Blue," "The X-Files," and "Forrest Gump." 

The upcoming closure of Cole's French Dip brings major grief to the L.A. community, to whom the restaurant signifies much more than just an incredibly good dipped sandwich. In a press release (via The Los Angeles Times), current restaurant owner Cedd Moses cites "the global pandemic, the actors and writers strikes, overall crime, as well as the consistently rising costs of labor and goods, unsustainably high rents, and mounting bureaucracy and legal exposure" among the myriad of difficulties that ultimately is pushing the historic eatery and bar to shut down. Like many small businesses that grappled with post-pandemic shifts in restaurant employment, Cole's struggled during and after the COVID-19 pandemic due to growing pressures of factors such as gentrification. 

Leading up to the recent announcement, the proud "melting pot of blue collar culture and offerings" (as Cole's states on its website) upheld shortened hours, and last year had to close down its attached speakeasy, The Varnish. Though it is not clear if the historic 117-year-old restaurant will be bought or replaced, one thing is for sure — it's presence in downtown L.A. will not be forgotten. "At the end of the day, Cole's doesn't reinvent, it definitely remembers," travel Instagram account, @lost_in_travel, stated in a recent post about the city's prolific venue. The historic watering hole posted on its own Instagram that it will host a goodbye gathering on August 1 to celebrate the spot with the local community over pickle drinks, French dip sandwiches, and other classic provisions.