LA restaurant icon shuttered after 118 years in shock return just months after closing for good

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One of Los Angeles’ oldest restaurants is getting a second helping of life.

Cole’s French Dip, the legendary downtown spot that served its last meal in March after 118 years in business, is preparing for a dramatic comeback — complete with new owners, a revamped menu, and swankier dining room.

The historic haunt, which claims to have invented the French dip sandwich, once reportedly counted gangsters and poets among its patrons, is poised to possibly reopen as soon as November, according to the LA Times.

And while the new owners are promising to preserve its gritty, old-school charm, they’re also hoping to transform the beloved institution into a dining destination that can survive downtown LA’s brutal restaurant bloodbath.

Hospitality entrepreneur Jeremy Fall and former Mozza Restaurant Group executive Sean Maloney are behind the ambitious revival, and while the beloved French dip will remain the star of the show, its return will include white tablecloths, fancy French fare and even an au jus-infused martini.

Their inspiration is a mashup of New York’s notoriously exclusive 4 Charles Prime Rib, buzzy French bistro Pastis, and Hollywood’s old-school celebrity haunt Musso & Frank Grill. With its resurrection, Cole’s is trading some of its former dive-bar grit for a little fine dining glitz.

The reworked menu will reportedly feature the likes of fresh ravioli, prime rib frites and salmon crowned with trout roe. The humble French dip sandwich remains on the menu, but with an upgrade: dry-brined prime rib, au jus that’s been simmered for 24 hours and a custom-made roll from trendy LA bakery Clark Street Bread.

The comeback comes just seven months after Cole’s seemingly became another victim of downtown LA’s hospitality shakeout. Founded in 1908, the restaurant became a boozy hangout over the decades. While the new owners spruce up its aging interiors, they are determined to preserve the spot’s colorful past.

A plaque above one of the bathroom urinals that proudly states “Charles Bukowski pissed here” will stay, but pool tables have been yanked to make way for additional dining space, and vintage-style ceiling tiles and a piano are being added.

But pulling off the revival might still be a tall order.

Cole’s previous owner, Pouring With Heart, announced last summer that the restaurant was on its last legs after being hammers by rising labor and insurance costs, pandemic-era fallout and the Hollywood strikes. Before the March closure, the devastating news brought a sudden frenzy to Cole’s, with customers waiting in lines down the block to get their final fix.

But now, new owners are betting that a little luxury and a lot of nostalgia can succeed where the old business model failed.

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