For most of its run, Downtown L.A.’s Original Pantry Cafe quite literally never closed. In fact, a sign along James M. Wood Boulevard, where all-day-and-night breakfast patrons would regularly line up for French toast or steak and eggs, proudly proclaims that “through a door that has no key, you will enter a cafe that has never closed.”
But on March 2, the formerly 24-hour diner (like many places, its hours were reduced post-pandemic) seemingly served its last meal after nearly 101 years in service along Figueroa Street—and after a few weeks of crowds outside from both diners looking for a final bittersweet meal and employees picketing over contract negotiations.
Why did the Original Pantry Cafe close?
In short: a post-pandemic lull, an ownership transition and a labor dispute. As the Los Angeles Times outlines, former L.A. mayor Richard Riordan became the landmark dining destination’s owner in 1981, and after his death in 2023, that duty transferred over to the Richard J. Riordan Administrative Trust. The trustees, who otherwise largely focus on academic charity initiatives, decided last summer that it would seek to close the restaurant and sell the property to fund its foundation work.
The unionized restaurant employees, part of Unite Here Local 11, sought to strike a deal that would require any new ownership to honor their existing contract. That never materialized, and the union filed a case with the National Labor Relations Board, which was dismissed last month. In the midst of that, the owners announced their intentions to close the restaurant on March 2.
Though the trust doesn’t directly attribute its closure plans to the pandemic—it instead cites a need to maximize its foundation’s financial resources—it’s impossible to understate just how profound an impact Covid-19 had on both the business and surrounding neighborhood. When the Original Pantry Cafe reemerged from the period of service-limited pandemic guidelines, it—like many other former late-night staples—went from a 24/7 operation to one open from 7am to either 3 or 5pm. That also meant that staffing levels dwindled to about a third of what they once were. The momentum in the rest of DTLA seemingly came to a screeching halt at the same time; just look at office building vacancy rates, which have risen above 30%, more than double their pre-pandemic rate.
So where exactly does this leave the restaurant? According to the Times, final paychecks were distributed on Sunday and employees were asked to leave the premises. At the same time, a representative for the unionized workers said “it’s still open from their perspective” and they plan on continuing to picket out front. For what it’s worth, the Original Pantry Cafe has yet to update any of its online listings to “closed,” and its online ordering portal still shows available pickups for Wednesday.