Tadeh Ghazalian woke up on Thursday morning and scrolled Instagram, where he saw a video of a broken water main and a deluge of water spilling onto the street — right by his restaurant. Then he noticed the flurry of unread texts and unheard voicemails from friends, family and staff, who were all concerned about Dialog Cafe: his popular family business located right at the corner where a large sinkhole was opening at a busy Sunset Strip intersection.
“All that water that came out of that line immediately went right in my front door, and it continued for four or five hours,” he said. “Just imagine thousands of pounds of water going inside. At one point, you couldn’t even see the floor. It looked like a pool.”
Early Thursday morning, a 110-year-old underground pipe burst, spewing 17 million gallons of water through portions of West Hollywood and flooding businesses, homes and garages, with the damage still being tallied. The major rupture also caused a sinkhole at Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive, with ensuing road closures that continue to affect businesses in the area.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power repair crews are installing a new pipe, and officials said they hope to fully reopen the streets by Monday.
But some businesses say repairs could take months before their own reopening. Dialog Cafe, a neighborhood staple since 2007, is one of them.
Armenian immigrants by way of Italy, the husband-and-wife team Rafik and Kenar Ghazalian came to the U.S. to follow their sons, who’d moved to L.A., and with the hope of creating community. They took over a West Hollywood internet cafe, gradually changing the menu and concept to fit a more European model. One of their sons, Tadeh, fell in love with third-wave coffee. Though an accountant by trade, he began integrating into the family business and, before his father’s passing, took over the business with his brother.
In late 2024 the family debuted a Sawtelle location of Dialog Cafe, which remains open at 1835 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
When Ghazalian arrived in West Hollywood around 7 a.m. Thursday, he thought he and the staff could simply remove the layers of mud and water from the floor. Then he attempted to check the basement — where the bathrooms and storage are located — and found it fully flooded. Now he anticipates removing drywall and ripping out the floors entirely.
“Everything’s destroyed,” he said, “from the walls to the door.”
Last night Ghazalian could not properly lock up Dialog Cafe. Due to water damage, the now-warped back door would not close; he drilled plywood into the frames to secure the restaurant. The to-go area, where half of his customers pick up orders, now has no floor: The force of the water removed portions of the sidewalk.
After a few shutoffs, Dialog Cafe regained its gas and electricity late on Thursday, and on Friday used this to provide free coffee, pastries and other goods to the crews working to fix the broken water line.
Customers are still approaching Dialog Cafe for their usual orders of breakfast burritos, lattes, wraps and cookies, many of which have gone viral on social media in recent years. It’s distressing for Ghazalian to relay that the West Hollywood restaurant is closed indefinitely, but the support, he said, has been overwhelming.
“We had a person literally just come up to me, crying, and [they] just gave me a hug,” he said. “I’m like, man, this is beyond coffee and food. I’m really touched by how important this is for people. Our family’s really grateful for how much support we’ve had.”
Customers and fellow business owners have approached Ghazalian to offer the cafe use of their refrigerators, storage spaces or kitchens.
Some of the best support, Ghazalian said, has come from lighthearted comments, which have helped buoy their spirits. One fan posted, “Lord let the sinkhole take me instead but not Dialog Cafe!!!!” Hundreds of comments of support have poured in on the restaurant’s Instagram page.
Ghazalian said he’s considering a temporary relocation for the restaurant during repairs. On Friday, he launched a GoFundMe to raise money that would create an emergency fund for the cafe’s roughly 90 staff members, as well as help cover repairs and a potential temporary cafe. He and his team said they want to get back to work.
“I’ve been in the restaurant for 17 years, where I’ve worked five or six days a week — 18-hour days every day — and I’ve loved every minute of it,” Ghazalian said. “The fact that this morning I walked up and there was nobody here was just weird.”
Even nearby businesses that did not suffer water damage still find themselves affected by the water main break.
Mel’s Drive-In, located just a half-mile east and up a hill from the break, saw a 30-40% drop in sales on Thursday due to area road closures, according to co-owner Colton Weiss. On Friday, he said, some of the Sunset Strip and its nearby roads reopened, though as of Friday afternoon business at Mel’s was still proving slower than normal.
“I think people are avoiding the area,” Weiss said. “At least we’re open. I feel bad for the businesses that aren’t open, because it’s really an unfortunate thing that’s happened … It’s a real mess.”
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