The signature dish of Cole’s French Dip landmark restaurant in Los Angeles.

The story of Cole’s French Dip over the past eight months has had more twists and turns than an episode of a daytime soap opera. In July 2025, the 117-year-old Downtown Los Angeles restaurant — which claims to have invented the French dip sandwich and is among the oldest operating restaurants in LA — announced that it would close its doors for good in early August. Sadly, the news didn’t come as a shock to many, as legacy LA restaurants have been shuttering left and right in recent years.

Yet now it’s more than half a year later, and the closure has simply never happened.

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At first, worried and nostalgic diners flocked to the restaurant, lining up for its signature roast beef sandwiches served with a side of jus. Photos of block-long lines covered Southern California social media feeds. Spurred on by the last big boost in business (which is common for closing restaurants), owner Cedd Moses of hospitality group Pouring With Heart pushed back the closure to........

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