Iconic Restaurant Where 'Mad Men' Filmed Closing After 117 Years in Business
Cole's, the oldest public house in Los Angeles and established in 1908 as the inventor of the Original French Dip sandwich, is reportedly set to close its doors for good on Aug. 2. DTLA Insider was first to report the news and Los Angeles Weekly later reported the same news.
Cole's was established by Harry Cole. For more than a century, the restaurant was housed in the historic Pacific Electric Building. The restaurant claims that its house chef, Jack Garlinghouse, invented the dip sandwich when he would dip the bread in Au Jus to soften it for customers with bad gums. Philippe's, another Los Angeles staple since 1908, also claims to have invented the Original French Dip sandwich.
Cole's is so legendary, it sold a record of fifty-eight 32-gallon kegs (some 19,000 gallons of beer) the first day California lifted the ban on beer to mark the end of Prohibition.
Civic dignitaries and gangsters alike often visited the restaurant -- often times at the same time -- for its famous sandwich and pints.
Mickey Cohen, L.A.'s most famous gangster, visited so often he has a plaque dedicated to him above one of the two original urinals. The plaque reads, "Mickey Cohen pissed here." The second plaque is dedicated to the poet and novelist Charles Bukowski. The restaurant even made news in 1983, when Jimmy Barela, the lead barman since 1918, retired after 65 years.
It's unclear why Cole's is closing after 117 years in business. Neither of the news outlets offered a reason, but rising rent costs in Los Angeles has contributed to other iconic institutions being forced to close its doors. The Original Pantry Cafe, just one block north of Crypto.com Arena, closed in March after 101 years of 24-hour diner service.
Cole's also played a character in many movies and TV shows. The restaurant was prominently featured in the 1986 film Jumpin' Jack Flash starring Whoopi Goldberg. While the film is set in New York City, Cole's and Los Angeles made its mark on the spy comedy. Cole's also appears in Forrest Gump for the New Year's Eve scene with Forrest and Lieutenant Dan.
Some hit TV shows that filmed inside Cole's includes the X-Files, NYPD Blue and, of course, Mad Men.
Cole's appears in season 4, episode 6 of "Waldorf Stories." In that scene, Roger Sterling's (John Slattery) flashback scenes reveals how he first met Don Draper (Jon Hamm). Their boozy lunch is filmed at Cole's.
Iconic Restaurant Where 'Mad Men' Filmed Closing After 117 Years in Business first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 7, 2025
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