Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet, also known as Cole's P.E. Buffet, is a
restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
and
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
located at 118 East 6th Street in the
Historic Core
The Historic Core is a district within Downtown Los Angeles includes the world's largest concentration of movie palaces, former large department stores, and office towers, all built chiefly between 1907 and 1931. Within it lie the Broadway Theate ...
district of downtown
Los Angeles,
California, the oldest operating in Los Angeles at the same location since its founding.
Cole's 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. Cole's unique table tops were made from the varnished doors of retired Red Cars of the
Pacific Electric Railway. The tables were removed as part of the renovation and were reportedly relocated to the developer's nearby corporate headquarters above
Clifton's Cafeteria.
The restaurant claims (along with
Philippe's) that the first
French dip sandwich
A French dip sandwich, also known as a beef dip, is a hot sandwich consisting of thinly sliced roast beef (or, sometimes, other meats) on a "French roll" or baguette. It is usually served plain but a variation is to top with Swiss cheese, onions, ...
was served at Cole's in the same year. Some have suggested that Philippe's is the original, as the sandwich was named "French" dip because of the original proprietor Philippe Mathieu's French heritage.
However, according to carvers at Cole's, Henry Cole first dipped the French bread in ''jus'' at the request of a customer who had had recent dental work. 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.
Henry Cole was later arrested in 1942 by the
Federal Government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
for fraud.
Cole's was designated a
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1989.
The location resembles the bar from ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', complete with reference to “French dip” on menu.
Note on new corporate owner
Cole's had boasted being the oldest restaurant and bar in the city of Los Angeles continuously operated from the same location—until a shutdown for major remodeling on March 15, 2007. The restaurant's new corporate owner, Pouring with Heart’s Cedd Moses, was quoted in the ''
Los Angeles Downtown News'', saying the restaurant would reopen in time for its 100th anniversary in January 2008;
however, the project was delayed,
and Cole's finally reopened in December 2008.
References
External links
*{{official website, http://www.colesfrenchdip.com
1908 establishments in California
American companies established in 1908
Buildings and structures in Downtown Los Angeles
History of Los Angeles
Landmarks in Los Angeles
Restaurants established in 1908
Restaurants in Los Angeles