{"id":51302,"date":"2025-08-01T00:41:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T00:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/51302\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T00:41:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T00:41:11","slug":"coles-french-dip-to-remain-open-temporarily-as-crowds-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/51302\/","title":{"rendered":"Cole’s French Dip to remain open temporarily as crowds surge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Turning the corner on 6th and Main Streets, an hours-long line of potential customers has been waiting to get a final dip and drink at Cole\u2019s French Dip. It\u2019s been this way since July 7, when owner Cedd Moses and his Pouring With Heart company announced the imminent closure<\/a> of the historic restaurant and saloon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s back to the old days temporarily, when we were packed all the time before the pandemic,\u201d Moses said Thursday.<\/p>\n

The last day of service for the landmark restaurant<\/a>, which claims to have invented the French dip, was meant to be Aug. 2. Now, due to the outpouring of support from the community as well as advocacy from local organizations including DTLA Residents Association<\/a>, Independent Hospitality Coalition<\/a>, Historic Core BID<\/a>, Central City Association and the DTLA Alliance<\/a>, Moses has struck a deal with the space\u2019s landlord to extend service for 45 days. <\/p>\n

\u201cDiners and imbibers have been visiting from all across Southern California to say their goodbyes, for which we couldn\u2019t be more grateful,\u201d read a statement announcing the extension. \u201cThough it\u2019s likely not going to be forever, it is still a gift to keep the ovens on, the drinks flowing and our family of staff employed for a little bit longer.\u201d <\/p>\n

Moses declined to detail the terms with the landlord but said sales have jumped dramatically since the closure announcement. Notably, the restaurant, which in the recent past has sold more drinks than food, is now selling as many dips as drinks, he said. As of last weekend, the restaurant is opening at noon on Saturdays and Sundays to accommodate the crowds. <\/p>\n

\"Locals <\/p>\n

Locals fill the Cole\u2019s French Dip landmark restaurant to taste their signature dishes for the last time.<\/p>\n

(Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen places are closing, it\u2019s always such a celebration and a cast off,\u201d said Eddie Navarrette, the executive director of the Independent Hospitality Coalition. \u201cPeople want to get in there and get emotional and have some of that nostalgic memory with a cocktail. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the experience of being in the room one last time.\u201d <\/p>\n

Moses, who also sits on the board of the Independent Hospitality Coalition, said he is grateful for the surge in business. But he said it\u2019s unlikely Cole\u2019s will remain open indefinitely. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand people are coming in now to say goodbye, and we can\u2019t count on that business being sustainable,\u201d he said, adding that the restaurant business in L.A. remains a \u201cbroken model.\u201d <\/p>\n

In addition to the lack of demand since the pandemic, Moses said increasing costs, particularly of labor, have been a major drag on the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing out of the pandemic, we just assumed business would come roaring back,\u201d he added. \u201cBut unfortunately we never saw that surge of business that we expected until just this couple of weeks, ironically after we announced our closing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the interim, Moses is actively looking for a new buyer of the business \u2014 one that will respect the historic value of Cole\u2019s, the oldest restaurant in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of love for Cole\u2019s, so we don\u2019t want to sell it to just anybody,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want someone that\u2019s going to continue to take care of it in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Reflected <\/p>\n

Reflected in the restaurant windows, locals flock to Cole\u2019s French Dip.<\/p>\n

(Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Turning the corner on 6th and Main Streets, an hours-long line of potential customers has been waiting to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,28,39563,25611,5268,39569,39566,451,39565,39564,39568,39567,39562,3,10643,10822,12278,2384,452,453],"class_list":["post-51302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-business","tag-cole","tag-customer","tag-drink","tag-dtla-residents-association","tag-french-dip","tag-headlines","tag-historic-restaurant","tag-independent-hospitality-coalition","tag-landlord","tag-last-day","tag-moses","tag-news","tag-pandemic","tag-service","tag-surge","tag-time","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}