The Saddest Restaurant Closures to Know in Los Angeles, June 2025
Nusr-Et— Nusret Gökçe, better known as Salt Bae, has sprinkled his last steaks in Los Angeles. The Beverly Hills outpost of Gökçe's global steakhouse chain, Nusr-Et, suddenly closed on June 4, four years after opening in 2021. The closure comes as the restaurant chain eyes further international expansion into markets including Mexico City, Rome, and Ibiza.
Bang Bang Noodles— Chinese hand-pulled noodle shop Bang Bang Noodles has shuttered its location in Culver City's Citizens Public Market. Born as a pop-up in 2020, the Culver City location was the first permanent outpost for Bang Bang Noodles and its signature tingly cumin lamb noodles tossed in chile oil. The Downtown location of Bang Bang Noodles remains open.
Verve— Verve Coffee Roasters closed its Downtown LA location on June 1, marking the end of a decade in the neighborhood. The Santa Cruz-based coffee roaster opened its Spring Street cafe in January 2015, serving a signature lineup of coffee drinks made with its own beans, as well as pastries, and juices from Juice Served Here. The cafe's closure was announced in an Instagram post, which reads, 'While the evolving landscape of Downtown has made it no longer sustainable for us to continue operating at this location, we remain deeply committed to our LA community.' Luckily, Verve has another location just a few miles away in the Arts District.
Here's Looking at You— Groundbreaking restaurant Here's Looking at You closed on June 13 after almost a decade on Sixth Street in Koreatown. The restaurant, opened by the late chef Jonathan Whitener and Lien Ta, has occupied its corner of Los Angeles since 2016, serving an ever-evolving menu of cross-cultural dishes like uni panna cotta and salsa-negra-crusted frogs' legs alongside an inventive cocktail program to match. The closure coincided with the end of a 10-year lease on the building.
Elf Cafe— Echo Park restaurant Elf Cafe closed after 19 years on June 1. Scott Zwiezen and his bandmates Astara Calas and Evan Haros, first opened Elf as a vegan restaurant in 2006, serving a Mediterranean-ish menu, with dishes like a vegetable tagine and morel risotto. In 2020, amid COVID-19, Elf suspended operations indefinitely, transforming into a space for roving pop-ups, before reopening in early 2023. Zwiezen says that over the years, the restaurant has shifted into a place that people only go to for special occasions, instead of a daily stop, though he doesn't point to one specific reason for the closure.
La Azteza Tortilleria— Legendary Boyle Heights burrito stand closed its original location on Caesar Chavez Boulevard on June 13. But not all hope is lost — the restaurant has relocated permanently to its second location less than two miles away on Atlantic and Beverly Boulevards. See More:
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