The iconic Original Pantry Cafe will reopen on November 19, and the timing couldn’t be better for Los Angeles. After the century-old diner closed in March 2025, the owners announced that the Downtown restaurant would reopen, but no one knew when. With
restaurant closures continuing at a constant pace in 2026, the return of one of Southern California’s oldest restaurants comes as welcome news, first reported by SF Gate.
The Original Pantry Cafe will collaborate with the nonprofit Hope the Mission, a prominent service provider for the unhoused in Greater Los Angeles. Real estate entrepreneur Leo Pustilnikov became the new owner in September 2025. SF Gate’s report also states every meal will help fund the nonprofit while providing job training and support to those caught up in the cycle of home insecurity. Some former Original Pantry employees, many of whom worked at the restaurant for decades, will also return to work, as Pustilnikov has struck a deal with the hospitality workers union, Unite Here Local 11.
The Original Pantry debuted in 1924 on the corner of Figueroa and Ninth Streets. Former LA mayor Richard Riordan purchased the restaurant in 1981; when it closed its doors on March 2, 2025, two years after Riordan’s death, a conflict between then-owners the Richard J. Riordan family trust and Unite Here Local 11 over allegations that the closure would violate federal labor law remained. The trust alleged at the time that the primary reason for the closure was to “maximize the value of the real estate.” Longtime fans waited in line for hours over the final weekend for a last taste of the homey diner’s ham steak and eggs, steak, pancakes, fried potatoes, and crunchy coleslaw.
In addition to operating the Original Pantry Cafe for decades, feeding generations of Angelenos, Riordan opened Riordan’s Tavern next door in 2007. The Pantry remained open at all hours — it was famous for its lack of door locks — and only closed a handful of times throughout its history. It served customers throughout the 1992 Los Angeles uprising but was forced to stop temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic. After pandemic restrictions lifted, the restaurant resumed operation but no longer stayed open around the clock.
The Original Pantry isn’t the only Downtown restaurant staging a comeback. The new operators of Clifton’s Republic and the new owner of Cole’s French Dip recently announced plans to resume operations. Clifton’s first opened at the Broadway location as Clifton’s Cafeteria in 1935 (an earlier location opened in 1931); former owner Andrew Meiran sold the building to Robhana Group in 2022 and closed Clifton’s Republic in 20TK. Cole’s began selling its legendary French dip sandwiches in 1908, and after multiple rounds of extending its closure date, the restaurant shuttered in March 2026. The Los Angeles Times reports that Cole’s will reopen in March 2027 under new ownership.
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