Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet

The oldest establishment still in business in Los Angeles that has been operating at the same location since its founding is Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet, also known as Cole's P.E. Buffet, which is located at 118 East 6th Street in the Historic Core neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles, California.

Henry Cole established Cole's in 1908 on the first floor of the Pacific Electric Building, the primary terminus for the Pacific Electric Railway. The varnished doors of retired Red Cars from the Pacific Electric Railway were used to create Cole's one-of-a-kind table tops. The tables were taken away as part of the refurbishment and apparently moved to the neighboring corporate headquarters of the developer, which is housed above Clifton's Cafeteria.

Henry Cole, who started the restaurant in 1908, is said to have dipped French bread in beef broth from cooking the sandwich's meat for the first time because a customer had just undergone dental work and the bread was too hard. Nobody will ever be able to definitively say whether Cole's or rival Philippe's originated the French Dip because there are no documented reports or firsthand testimonies of this episode.

Location: 118 E 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014, America

Phone: +1 213-878-9034

Website: colesfrenchdip.com