118-Year-Old L.A. Restaurant Cole’s French Dip Finally Closing After Multiple False Closures

Chiara KimWed, March 25, 2026 at 11:45 PM UTC

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Cole's French Dip on July 30, 2025 in Los Angeles, Calif.Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty -

Cole’s French Dip, which claims to have originated the French dip sandwich, announced that it will close at the end of March

The 118-year-old restaurant in Los Angeles is shutting down after extending its closure date multiple times over the past eight months

The restaurant is having a final farewell party on March 28 and 29, featuring other L.A. businesses

After making four closure announcements over the past eight months, a historic Los Angeles restaurant is finally shutting its doors.

Cole’s French Dip, the 118-year-old L.A. institution that claims to be the originator of the French dip sandwich, has announced that it will close.

In an Instagram post on Monday, March 23, the establishment shared the information for “a very L.A. farewell (for real this time) to the iconic Cole’s French Dip."

“Come bid us a final adieu,” the post said, highlighting that the pop-up will take place Saturday, March 28, and Sunday, March 29. It will also feature specialty collaboration French dip sandwiches and sides from L.A. partners, including Found Oyster and Thai restaurant Jitlada.

The caption said that this “flavor feast at Cole’s” would mark a culmination of “118 years of service.”

“A constellation of L.A.’s revered chefs are crafting their own version of our iconic sandwiches and sides,” the eatery continued, noting that a portion of the proceeds from the event will go to the Independent Hospitality Coalition, a group supporting independent restaurants and establishments in L.A.

Comments on the post were torn, with many offering commiseration about the restaurant closing and others commenting in disbelief over the news, given the past false closures.

Cole's French Dip's sandwich that they claim to have inventedCredit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty

“I'll keep eating at Coles as long as the doors are open. Why do you care if they announce closing 100 times?” one commenter wrote.

“…. Annnnd don’t believe [it] this time. It’s like those farewell concerts The Who has been doing for forty years,” a skeptic wrote.

In a pop-up message on its website, Cole’s French Dip wrote, “This time we really mean it! (Maybe).”

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“You ever heard the one about the bar that cried wolf? Well… based on continued support from our guests and the community, Cole’s has decided to stay open through March 2026,” the message read. “While we absolutely can’t keep Cole’s going in its current iteration, and we will have to close soon, we can’t thank you enough for your patronage and support of our historic venue.”

Cole’s French Dip has extended its closing several times for eight months (since July 2025) and has been in negotiations to find a new buyer, The Los Angeles Times reported.

“We delayed the closure because we got such a great, big response of people coming out to support the restaurant, which we really appreciate,” Cedd Moses, the founder of Pouring with Heart, which owns Cole’s, told the outlet. “But then business started receding again, so now at this point, we’re forced to close. We just can’t keep the doors open and keep hemorrhaging money.”

The company cited financial losses since the pandemic, increased labor and insurance costs and decreased business from the entertainment industry strikes and job losses, along with the 2025 Palisades fire, as reasons for closure, according to the Times.

Moses told the outlet he is “hopeful” they may find a buyer after receiving interest, but they need to close the restaurant by the end of March.

Cole’s French Dip and Pouring with Heart did not immediately reply to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The center of the Cole’s French Dip is the eponymous French dip sandwich – customers can choose from a range of meat options, from braised lamb to U.S.D.A. Prime beef, to dip into their au jus.

The restaurant was established in 1908 by entrepreneur Harry Cole at the Pacific Electric Building, which was the center of a railway network, per the establishment’s website. Passengers would stop at Cole’s to eat the French dips that remain the restaurant’s specialty.

As for how the sandwich was created in the early 20th century, the website claims, “Jack Garlinghouse, Cole's house chef, dips bread in Au Jus to soften it for a customer with bad gums. Thus, he originates the French Dip sandwich, a universally beloved Los Angeles culinary invention.”

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”