A famed downtown Los Angeles diner known for its decadent doughnuts and hearty entrees has closed its doors permanently.
Nickel Diner, located at 524 S. Main St., held its last day of business on Sunday, bringing an end to 15 years of service to the downtown community.
Owners Kristen Trattner and Monica May announced the restaurant’s closure earlier this month in an instagram post. They cited “rising costs, a crowded food scene, [and] the changing nature of downtown” as insurmountable challenges that led the business to close.
The 1940s-style diner was known for its eclectic interior design, as well as its popular maple bacon doughnut, specialty macaroni and cheese entrees, and fried catfish.
The Nickel Diner was opened in 2008 following the Great Recession, Trattner and May said. It opened in a decrepit building that was once part of a downtown opera house. The previous tenant was a taco shop that was under investigation by the City Attorney’s Office on allegations of being a front for illegal gambling, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The diner was a rarity, in that it was a female-owned and operated establishment located on the outskirts of Skid Row, an impoverished neighborhood that made more headlines due to the population of unhoused, rather than being home to award-winning eateries.
But the Nickel Diner defied the odds for several years before being forced to close up shop. It was featured in an episode of Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” and was named one of L.A.’s best restaurants by famed L.A. Times food critic Jonathan Gold.
Throughout its 15-year lifespan, the Nickel Diner fed thousands of area homeless through its warm meals program, and helped many find gainful employment at the diner itself.
A message left on the homepage of the diner’s website signed by May and Trattner says they plan to continue to be involved in the downtown Los Angeles community by continuing to feed their food-insecure neighbors.
There is also a promise of a cookbook, so some of the diner’s legendary menu items will live on long after the lights went out.
