{"id":459093,"date":"2026-09-10T06:34:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T06:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/459093\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T06:34:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T06:34:25","slug":"rossoblu-and-employees-only-are-los-angeless-latest-brutal-restaurant-closures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/459093\/","title":{"rendered":"Rossoblu and Employees Only Are Los Angeles\u2019s Latest Brutal Restaurant Closures"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over Labor Day weekend, a locally loved Downtown Los Angeles Italian restaurant and West Hollywood bar, the latter originally a transplant from New York, separately announced they would cease operations in 2026. The nearly 10-year-old Rossoblu<\/a>, chef Steve Samson and wife\u2013business partner Dina Samson\u2019s Northern Italian restaurant, will close on Sunday, November 1, 2026; the Samsons tell Eater they recently sold the business. West Hollywood\u2019s Employees Only<\/a>, which debuted in 2018 on Santa Monica Boulevard slightly west of Fairfax Avenue, will serve its final cocktail on Sunday, September 27.<\/p>\n

Both business owners echoed similar challenges surrounding the general dining slowdown in Los Angeles, plus cost increases with labor, rent, ingredients, and more. Employees Only managing partner Tom Sopit says that the current business and consumer climate made it difficult to stay open. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t really one thing that killed us,\u201d says Sopit. \u201cIt was death by a thousand cuts. West Hollywood raising the minimum wage, required paid time-off for workers, the cost of goods going up, inflation, vandals damaging an air conditioning unit last year, drinking trends changing, and GLP-1s<\/a>. So I can\u2019t really point to one specific thing.\u201d West Hollywood\u2019s ordinance<\/a> requires that full-time employees receive at least 96 compensated hours per year for sick leave, vacation, or personal necessity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t really one thing that killed us. It was death by a thousand cuts.\u201c<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tom sopit, employees only<\/p>\n

Sopit says that many of his professional bartenders who are actors have also moved outside of Los Angeles. \u201cAspiring actors are going to move out of a city with a high cost of living,\u201d says Sopit. \u201cThere are gigs in Vancouver, Jersey, and New York, but not here. Auditions are online. I was born and raised in Los Angeles. There are usually production trucks everywhere. Not anymore, it\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pouring<\/a><\/p>\n

Pouring a DIY cocktail at Employees Only. Jason Yu<\/p>\n

Throughout the years, Employees Only had become a regular spot for those in the industry; the bar will have a big industry blowout party to honor it on September 27. Sopit, who has worked in hospitality since 2008, is proud of what he\u2019s accomplished even as he contemplates whether to stay or leave the industry entirely. \u201cOur goal was always to bring people together, and we\u2019ve achieved that many times over,\u201d he says. \u201cI just hope some real changes happen in our industry so our bars stop dying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Rossoblu received recognition<\/a> throughout the years, Dina Samson says it was a struggle from the beginning. \u201cWhen we started, we ran out of money as we were building Rossoblu,\u201d says Dina. \u201cWe started hoping we would make the first payment, and it\u2019s been like that since day one. Where do you find the money to keep going?\u201d<\/p>\n

At their nine-year mark, the duo has been through the lingering effects of the pandemic and the 2023 Hollywood labor strikes<\/a>. In 2023, Rossoblu was forced to temporarily halt service<\/a> as a fire severely damaged a one-mile stretch of the 10 Freeway in Downtown. Years prior, Rossoblu also temporarily closed<\/a> after a kitchen fire in 2018. The slowdown after the 2025 fires<\/a> and ongoing effects of ICE enforcement<\/a> also played a role, Dina says. So does upkeep: \u201cAll the equipment and restaurant are almost 10 years old,\u201d she says. \u201c When you don\u2019t have that kind of money for maintenance and repairs, and guests are no longer coming in like they used to, it seems like all odds are against us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before making the call to close, the Samsons considered flipping the restaurant themselves, but the projected profit margins seemed too small. Dina notes that her health was taking a hit from the stress of running a business, even after the closure of the pair\u2019s Playa Vista Italian restaurant Superfine Playa in 2025. Another factor: the ongoing marketing and growth training she needed to implement for her team. Dina says that the couple is uncertain about the future of Superfine Pizza<\/a>, which is walking distance from Rossoblu.<\/p>\n

Dina tells Eater that Rossoblu has recently been sold: she says she cannot disclose the specific details of the deal now, but that the new owners will reimagine the space while the Samsons step back from operational management for the time being. The yet-to-be-named team is already considering what needs to be fixed and what to begin working on. \u201cThe fact that somebody came in and said, \u2018Hey, let us buy it from you, and you can still be a part of it if you want.\u2019 Steve can still cook, we will still be in the space, and the team will likely come back when it reopens. Why would we say no?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dina<\/a><\/p>\n

Dina and Steve Samson, owners of Rossoblu. Mona Holmes<\/p>\n

Dina did share a glimpse of their future vision at the City Market South property. \u201cI will say this, Steve and the new buyers are already working together on creating a concept that I believe is going to change that part of Downtown,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been another brutal year for longtime Los Angeles restaurants, the most recent being<\/a> Delicias Bakery and Some, Sky\u2019s Gourmet Tacos, and Crustacean<\/a>. Even the 40-year-old Toi on Sunset, a Hollywood staple, shared on Instagram<\/a> that it is in danger of closing due to a significant drop in late-night customers post-pandemic<\/a>, and as the restaurant\u2019s pandemic Paycheck Protection Program loans became due. Toi on Sunset set up a GoFundMe<\/a> to assist with raising funds.<\/p>\n

Dina, for her part, feels relieved to close this chapter of her restaurant. \u201cAm I sad? I don\u2019t know. I\u2019ve already grieved over the fact that Rossoblu would eventually close. People are sad and reaching out, but I\u2019m okay with taking a backseat.\u201d<\/p>\n