After eight months of extensions, lines of fans and negotiations to find a new buyer, one of L.A.’s oldest and most famous restaurants is set to close this weekend with a celebration. Cole’s, the city’s longest-running public house and alleged creator of the French dip sandwich, will shut its doors March 29.
“We delayed the closure because we got such a great, big response of people coming out to support the restaurant, which we really appreciate,” said Cedd Moses, the founder of Pouring with Heart hospitality group. “But then business started receding again, so now at this point, we’re forced to close. We just can’t keep the doors open and keep hemorrhaging money.”
Last July, Pouring with Heart, the owner of Cole’s since 2008, announced an early August closure for the downtown institution. This was then extended into September, which extended again through the end of 2025. In the last days of the year the group announced the restaurant and bar would run through January, but continued into March. The team delayed closing as they attempted to find a new buyer who would continue the legacy of historically designated Cole’s — and not simply open a new concept within the dark, moody space.
In the decision to close, Pouring with Heart (formerly 213 Hospitality) cited near-monthly financial losses that began during the pandemic, then continued with rising costs of labor and insurance, decreases in business due to entertainment-industry strikes and job losses, the 2025 fires and beyond.
Though there are multiple interested parties, Moses said, none have closed escrow.
“We’re close to signing on the dotted line, so we’re still hopeful,” he said. “But either way, we just need to close the doors at month’s end. We’ll see if something materializes.”
After the closure announcements in 2025, lines stretched down the block. Wait times ran as long as an hour and a half as fans flocked for one final French dip sandwich. But even in its busiest months, Moses said, Cole’s barely broke even.
In 2024 Pouring with Heart closed Cole’s influential speakeasy, the Varnish, which helped lead L.A. ‘s craft-cocktail movement of the 2010s. The announcement sent shock waves through the beverage community, but Moses said the decision afforded Cole’s another year in business.
Cole’s debuted at the base of the Pacific Electric Building in 1908, where it served affordable roast meats, sandwiches and drinks primarily to busy commuters. It’s rumored that the famous French dip sandwich was first served here, as opposed to Chinatown restaurant Philippe the Original, which also claims the invention. The story goes that in order to soften sandwich bread for a guest with bad gums, Cole’s chef Jack Garlinghouse dipped the roll in au jus.
Through the decades Cole’s garnered fans such as poet Charles Bukowski, whose memory is preserved with a plaque above a urinal that reads, “Charles Bukowski pissed here”; gangster Mickey Cohen, who has a similar urinal plaque as well as a favorite booth, which still sits in the front corner of the restaurant; and actor-director Andy Garcia, who features the bar in an upcoming film called “Diamond.”
The business changed hands multiple times through its first century. When Pouring with Heart obtained Cole’s, Moses and his team invested $1.6 million into a yearlong restoration, which included installing a new kitchen, removing asbestos, and stripping away years of paint that covered original wallpaper, which was then digitally copied and printed onto new wallpaper to preserve the restaurant’s storied aesthetic.
Redbird chef Neal Fraser contributed a new recipe for the French dip, which calls for 24 hours of marination, nine hours of roasting and 12 hours of cook time for the jus. Fraser also created new versions of the astringent “atomic mustard,” Cole’s slaw and grilled cheese sandwich.
Cole’s is turning to local chefs once more for its final weekend, with a slew of collaborative specials in addition to the regular menu. On Saturday find a beef curry dip from Jitlada, a burger dip from Father’s Office and a Wagyu pho dip from Little Fatty. Then on Sunday, look for a surprise dip from Bay Cities (an interested party in purchasing Cole’s), red mole loaded fries from Guelaguetza and a po’ boy dip from Found Oyster.
Each restaurant will serve 118 versions of their sandwich in honor of the restaurant’s run, while See’s Candy will be handing out 59 treats each day for a total of 118 treats over the weekend.
Cole’s is located at 118 E. 6th St., Los Angeles, open Monday to Thursday from 2 p.m. to midnight, Friday and Saturday from noon to 2 a.m., and Sunday from noon to midnight.
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