Business & Tech
Iconic LA Diner Shutters After 101 Years On Bitter Note
After 100 years — serving free coffee and never locking its doors for most of those years — The Original Paltry has closed.
LOS ANGELES, CA — The Original Pantry, the landmark downtown Los Angeles diner that served up hot coffee, crispy hash browns, and greasy eggs through the Great Depression, WWII, the summer of Love, the LA riots, Y2K, the pandemic, Lakers championships, and the George Floyd protests has shut down.
After 100 years in business — famously serving free coffee and never locking its doors or going without a customer for most of those years — The Original Pantry served its last meal Sunday amid a bitter labor dispute.
Customers waited in line for hours outside the Downtown staple Sunday for one last meal at the diner that always looked like a greasy spoon straight out of 1950, when it relocated to South Figueroa to make room for the freeway.
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Some customers were tearful, and some of the employees reflected on their fond memories of The Original Pantry. The closure is a result of a dispute between new owners and the union representing the employees. The owners decided to close the restaurant after the two sides could not reach a labor agreement.
Monterey Park resident Wesley, who opted not to share his last name, told NBC 4 Sunday he felt compelled to have one last meal at the Pantry.
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"This place is iconic, you know, it's LA," he said.
"It is emotional just because it's not going to be here tomorrow," he said. `You talk to people in line and they all have stories -- it really means a lot to them and that's why there's a line around the corner.
Former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan once owned The Original Pantry Café. After he died in 2023, his trust took over and listed the diner for sale in August.
Ultimately, the beloved eatery closed its doors on a sour note.
About two dozen workers stayed behind after closing on Sunday, which prompted the owners to call the police on them, ABC7 reported. The union president was handcuffed.
"They just decided to call the police on us, and escort us out," employee Maricela Granados said.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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