The Original Pantry Cafe reopens Nov. 19 with a new mission
The 1924 downtown diner returns under Hope the Mission, with its sourdough toast and some longtime staff, but no longer open 24 hours.
By LA This Weekend Team · November 8, 20261 view
The Original Pantry Cafe is coming back. The downtown diner, open since 1924, reopens on Nov. 19 at its old corner of Ninth and Figueroa, more than a year and a half after it closed in March 2025 following pandemic-era losses and a labor dispute.
What's different
The Pantry now runs as a social enterprise of Hope the Mission, a San Fernando Valley nonprofit that serves people experiencing homelessness. Hope the Mission says the diner's net profits will go to its shelters and meal programs.
"We are an organization that's all about second chances," Hope the Mission founder Ken Craft told the Daily Trojan. Real estate investor Leo Pustilnikov has owned the Pantry since September 2025, according to Eater LA.
The new team plans to make more in-house, with a focus on baked goods, and has added new dishes to the menu, the Los Angeles Times reports.
What's the same
The look of the dining room is staying, and so are the classics: buttered sourdough toast off the griddle, pancakes, coleslaw and potatoes. The owners signed an agreement with Unite Here Local 11, the hospitality workers union, and 14 of the roughly 50 people hired worked at the Pantry before it closed, the Daily Trojan reports.
It won't be 24 hours, at least for now
The Pantry was famous for never closing. The new hours on its website are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
The Original Pantry Cafe, 877 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, (213) 900-0604, originalpantryla.com
Sources
- Los Angeles Times: Legendary downtown diner the Original Pantry reopens this month. Here's what's new
- Daily Trojan: The Original Pantry Cafe reborn with new mission
- Eater LA: Downtown LA's Original Pantry Cafe is back
- Los Angeles Magazine: Original Pantry Café set to reopen at last
- The Original Pantry Cafe
Photo: the Original Pantry Cafe by Downtowngal, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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LA This Weekend Team