LA Landmark Cole’s French Dip to Shutter After 117 Years

Cole’s French Dip, the downtown Los Angeles institution credited with inventing the French dip sandwich, will close permanently on Aug. 3 after 117 years in business. Owner Cedd Moses said the restaurant could no longer absorb the combined impact of pandemic-era losses, the 2023 Hollywood strikes, escalating rents, rising food and labor costs, area crime and what he described as mounting local bureaucracy. Opened in 1908 and designated a city Historic-Cultural Landmark in 1974, Cole’s has been a draw for tourists and film crews, making appearances in movies such as “Forrest Gump.” Preservation advocates in the Historic Core Business Improvement District are searching for a buyer to keep the space intact, warning that without regulatory relief more legacy eateries may vanish. The closure follows a broader shake-out among independent restaurants in Los Angeles. Neighboring cocktail bar the Varnish, operated by the same group, shut in June 2024, while chef Alisa Reynolds’ soul-food bistro My 2 Cents said it will serve its last meal on July 31 after a 12-year run. Industry groups say the departures underscore the financial fragility of small, historic venues as costs and compliance burdens rise.