Downtown L.A.’s historic The Original Pantry Cafe will reopen its doors to customers Thursday after suddenly shutting down six months ago.
Why it matters: The historic restaurant at the corner of 9th and Figueroa streets in downtown L.A first served plates of classic American breakfast in 1924, cultivating a loyal multi-generational base of regulars. When it first announced its closure in March, the restaurant saw fans flock to the greasy spoon for days to order one last bite.
Why now: UNITE HERE Local 11, the union representing the restaurant’s workers, announced Tuesday that The Pantry will reopen this week with its original staff. In a news release, the union said the group had reached a deal with the new owner and real estate entrepreneur Leo Pustilnikov.
Neither the union nor Pustilnikov could be immediately reached for comment on details regarding the agreement.
The backstory: The previous owner, the Richard J. Riordan Administrative Trust, told LAist’s media partner KCAL News in March that the restaurant was never profitable and that selling the property would help keep the foundation’s charitable mission.
What's next: The restaurant is hosting a celebration to mark a new chapter from 9 to 10 a.m. Thursday.
by WeAreLAist
11 Comments
This is GREAT news! I haven’t had a decent pancake or sourdough toast since they closed!
I hope they extend their hours
With prices hiked 30%
so thursday is its grand re opening day? i wanna go for sure sometime soon just wanna make sure it’ll be open when i go
Fuck them and their union busting ways.
I’m super pro-union, but Unite Here Local 11 are notoriously awful bullies who should not be trusted. They have a history of inserting themselves into every service-related business without being approached by any employees just to grow their numbers and deepen their pockets.
It’s the only local place near me with biscuits & gravy. And even though it’s more of a chipped beef tasting gravy (closer to shit-on-a-shingle than traditional biscuits & sausage gravy), it fills the Midwestern void in my heart. Will be glad to have it back.
Leo Pustilnikov, Mr. Builder’s Remedy, owns a heck of a lot of real estate that’s housing based.
Yes, he essentially bought a huge chunk of Beach connected property next to the refineries in South Bay, but as far as I know it, this is the first business he owns directly that’s a restaurant.
I know he has places where he leased to restaurants, but has he ever owned one personally?
Yay! Dtla needs some good news
Use your come here before Dodger games when I was a kid.
They had the best cole slaw.