Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet

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Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet, also known as Cole's P.E. Buffet, is a restaurant and bar located in the Historic Core district of downtown Los Angeles, California.

Cole's had boasted being the oldest restaurant and bar in the City of Los Angeles continuously operated from the same location. However, the restaurant has been closed for major remodeling since March 15, 2007. The restaurant's new owner, downtown bar/restaurant entrepreneur Cedd Moses, has been quoted in the Los Angeles Downtown News as saying the restaurant would reopen in time for its 100th anniversary in January 2008.^[1] In January 2008, however, the Downtown News ran another article saying that the restaurant would reopen in Summer 2008.^[2]

It was founded in 1908 by Henry Cole on the ground floor of the Pacific Electric Building, which served as the main terminal for the Pacific Electric Railway. The restaurant claims (along with Philippe's) that the first French dip sandwich was served at Cole's in the same year. It is suggested that Philippe's is the original, as the sandwich was named "French" dip because of the original proprietor Philippe Mathieu's French heritage.^[3] According the carvers at Cole's, Henry Cole first dipped the French bread in au jus at the request of a customer who had dental work recently. The French bread was too hard and it hurt this customer's teeth, so Henry dipped the bread in order to soften it. Other customers, with perfectly good teeth, saw Henry dip the bread and requested that he do the same for them - and thus the French dip was born. Other theories exist, so debate is likely to continue.

Henry Cole also operated Los Angeles's first check cashing service from the restaurant.

In 1974, the City of Los Angeles designated Cole's as Historical Landmark Site #104.^[4] In March of 2007, Cole's was purchased by developer Cedd Moses.

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