RIP Franchises of our youths

[Greg]

None of you probably know Cole's but it was one of the locations we used for Mr and Mrs Smith. I had to come in for a few days to finish the set because the Art Department didn't think the other foreman was capable of doing the job. Grease was about an inch thick on the kitchen walls.

Cole's Closes Doors: Downtown landmark shuts its doors forever

• By Ed Condran, LA Downtown News Contributor
   
  
• Apr 6, 2026 Updated Apr 6, 2026
  

Cole’s French Dip is a landmark DTLA eatery dating back over a century.

Kim Cooper and Richard Schave are adept at looking back. The couple behind Downtown Los Angeles' Esotouric, which presents a variety of walking tours, such as true crime and old Hollywood jaunts, discuss about the past during their communal runs through the city.
Cooper waxed about the end of Cole's French Dip, which closed its doors after serving downtown Los Angeles for 118 years.
"The greatest thing I ever saw at Cole's was someone making sandwiches with their feet," Cooper recalled. "It was the wildest thing but then again it was like a carnival atmosphere back then."
Cooper is referring to the aughts. "Downtown was the like the Wild West then," Cooper said. "It was about drinking. It was a real old man's bar."
When Cole's changed hands and was owned by Cedd Moses, who cited financial issues as the reason for the end of the establishment, it became a different restaurant, according to Cooper. She and Schave can't help but hark back to a Cole's of a bygone era.
"There were so many great times there," Cooper said.
Cole's, which claims to have invented the French Dip sandwich, survived the Great Depression, World War II, the pandemic and several recessions, but couldn't overcome its financial crisis according to Moses and his company, Pouring With Heart.
The closure was delayed as Pouring With Heart tried to find a new buyer, but it didn't work out.
However, Schave believes Cole's could have stayed open. "When I heard the announcement that Cole's was closing, I felt strongly about the legacy of Cole's," Schave said. "Their landlord is a multi-billionaire national company. If they wanted Cole's to stay open they could have worked it out to keep a business going that goes back to 1908."
Regardless, it's the end of an era or is it? Could Cole's return much like The Original Pantry Cafe. The Downtown institution shuttered in March of 2025 after a century long run. However, nearly a year after its doors closed, it was announced that the old school joint, which left a gaping void for reliable, fairly-priced fare, would reopen during the spring of 2026.
Perhaps Cole's will follow in the Original Pantry Cafe's path and re-open.
John Bolton hopes that is the case since he always opted to visit Phillipe the Original, which also claims to have invented the French Dip. "Back when I went to Phillipe, you took one side or the other," Bolton said. "There was always this battle between the two. I never went to Cole's. Now I wish I did. But it's funny since you have these places that have been around for 100- years and you take it for granted that they'll stay open and never close."
Phillipe the Original is still open for business. Maybe Cole's will be revived.
"It could happen," Cooper said. "But the thing that is special about these places is that they would be open. Downtown is a 24-hour neighborhood. People come in to socialize. It doesn't matter if you have dinner at Cole's or a cup of coffee. You would go there and hang out with the cast of characters. You would see the film industry there with character actors and grips."
The Cole's that Cooper and Schave happily recall predates Moses' ownership. The Los Angeles natives enjoy waxing about the aughts era Cole's around the time when the institution was celebrating its centennial.
"It was about going to Cole's to drink," Schave said. "It was about going to Craby Joe's and The King Eddy. All those places are closed, and we can't help but look back."
Cooper recalls the first time she set foot into Cole's. "I saw a rat and I ordered a side that I figured that maybe the rat didn't get into," Cooper said. "I ordered potato salad."
A curious reaction by a patron, who had no problem ordering at Cole's after someone made a sandwich with their feet. But Cooper is a character just like her favorites, who hung out at Cole's back in the day.