Downtown LA Diner Famous For Its Buttered Sourdough Toast Is Reopening Nov. 19 After Closing In 2025, Under A New Owner Who Never Ate There Before

Bacon sizzling on the grill, heavy mugs clattering onto tables and thick planks of buttered sourdough toast. That is the soundtrack of the Original Pantry Cafe, and it is about to come back to downtown Los Angeles. The historic diner reopens Nov. 19 after a closure of more than a year and a half.

The twist is who is bringing it back. The new owner, developer Leo Pustilnikov, had never eaten there before, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

“I Thought It Was An L.A. Institution”: The Owner Who Never Ate There

Founded in 1924, the Pantry began with five employees and a hot plate. It grew into a downtown destination famous for staying open 24/7 and serving huge portions to everyone from visiting luminaries, including civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., to countless Angelenos.

It closed abruptly in March 2025 after pandemic-driven hardships and an ongoing labor dispute. Pustilnikov, whose portfolio includes the PacMutual complex, the former Sears building in Boyle Heights and South Pasadena’s Rialto Theater, heard about the closure and started to wonder whether it could be his next investment.

His father often spoke fondly of the place. “I thought it was an L.A. institution, and I invest in downtown L.A., and I thought this was a great opportunity,” Pustilnikov said. “I’m thankful for being chosen to lead it for the coming century.”

A Car Crashed Into The Building Weeks After He Got The Keys

He bought the nearly 8,000-square-foot building in September 2025. The diner had been owned for many years by former Mayor Richard Riordan and passed to a trust.

Weeks after Pustilnikov received the keys, a car careened into the side of the building. That set off six more months of permitting and repairs and pushed the planned opening past its original New Year’s Eve target.

More permitting delays moved the date into November. The Pantry’s new owner paid $5.5 million for the diner and an adjacent parking lot.

Thirteen Of The 21 Workers Are Coming Back

The closing in March 2025 was rough on the staff. In 2023, roughly two dozen employees had asked for protection of their contract rights if the trust sold the diner. The trust threatened to close, then did so on March 2, 2025.

Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, was there that day. He said representatives of the trust “threw their last [staff] paychecks on a table and told everyone to get out.” Petersen was handcuffed and escorted out by police, though no one was charged.

This time, talks moved quickly. The union said negotiations with the former owners dragged on for one to two years, while talks with Pustilnikov and Hope the Mission were settled in weeks.

All of the recently employed staff were offered jobs, and 13 of the 21 staffers at the time of the closure will return. “Those workers will go back to work with free family health insurance, a pension and job security,” Petersen said.

A Nonprofit Runs The Kitchen, And Every Dollar Goes To Its Programs

The Pantry will be managed by Hope the Mission, a San Fernando Valley nonprofit that offers services for people experiencing homelessness and prepares 3.8 million meals each year. All proceeds will benefit its programs, shelters and staffing.

The new slogan sums it up: “Come in for the food. Leave having done something good.”

Hope the Mission president Rowan Vansleve promised familiar faces. “There’ll be enough change that I think people will enjoy it but enough history and familiarity that they’ll feel right at home,” he said.

Cash Only Is Over, But The Caged Cash Register Stays

Some old habits will change. The diner had already given up its 24/7 hours before the closure, and the new team will serve from morning to dinner at first, hoping to return to always-open hours later.

The cash-only days are finished, too. Most guests will pay at their tables, but a cashier will work the iconic caged cash register near the front door for people who want to pay the old-fashioned way.

New general manager Kenneth Small found a trove of original menus, photographs, brochures and line drawings while cleaning, and many are now framed on the walls. The old tables, once described as “held together by a little bit of 50-year-old chewing gum,” are being replaced with vintage-inspired versions, and the old furniture may be auctioned for charity.

Kimchi On The Fried Chicken Sandwich And Poblanos In The Denver Omelet

The renovation of countertops, flooring, tables, chairs and kitchen equipment cost roughly $800,000, according to Hope the Mission founder and CEO Ken Craft. Meanwhile, the new chefs were cooking.

Executive chef Daniel Hur and food services director Jason Moniz have tried to balance modern ideas with nostalgia. The menu began with global inspiration, then was dialed back toward diner favorites with a Los Angeles twist.

The Denver omelet gets poblanos instead of bell peppers, and the fried chicken sandwich gets kimchi. The cinnamon toast uses milk bread, orange-zest sour cream and pepitas.

Coleslaw and pancakes are returning, though the pancakes, recently made from a mix, will be built from scratch and come out eggy and crisp at the edges. Sourdough still comes from Frisco Baking Co., as it has for decades.

“No decision here has come lightly,” Hur said. Moniz said that “the nostalgia goes so far, but being able to produce the food and really have control over it makes a lot of sense.”

Full Circle Moment For The Pastry Chef

Bakery manager Natalie Barcena will run the dessert case, with blueberry pie cookies, vanilla cheesecake, apple crumble pie, miso-laced coffee cake and cinnamon rolls. “I used to come to the Pantry as a kid, so it’s kind of a full-circle moment for me,” she said.

If You Plan To Go

Here is the practical rundown for anyone who wants to be in that first wave of customers.

Address: 877 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles.
Reopening: Nov. 19, with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m.
Hours: morning to dinner at first, with 24/7 service hoped for later.
Payment: cards are now welcome, and the old register is still there for cash.

Curious fans have been stopping at the glass doors to ask whether the Pantry is coming back. Soon the answer will be a plate of buttered sourdough on a familiar counter.

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