08-07-2025
In a Brutal Week for Los Angeles, Three More Prominent Restaurants Say Goodbye
During a year that has already seen the loss of numerous longtime Los Angeles restaurants, the city is facing another wave of closures. On the heels of Cole's French Dip, Los Angeles's oldest restaurant, announcing its permanent closure, three other prominent restaurants will cease operations or have already closed. Mid-Wilshire's Southern specialist My 2 Cents ends dine-in service on July 31, chef Michael Mina's Mother Tongue closed in June, and Shibumi's final day in Downtown is July 19.
The last few years have been punishing for Los Angeles restaurants and bars, which continue to feel the ripple effects of COVID-19 and the 2023 Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes. Los Angeles restaurant operators who had built solid catering, industry meeting, and private events revenue streams noticed a 30 to 40 percent decline in revenue during the strikes, which never recovered as television and film productions in Los Angeles ground to a screeching halt. Many producers, technical crew members, industry set designers, costumers, and more have been without consistent work since 2023, leading a reliable revenue stream for restaurants throughout the region to dry up.
As restaurant owners adapt to these unprecedented events, they continue to struggle with the daily challenges of running a business, such as the rising costs of goods and labor, in an exceedingly untenable environment. Here are the latest Los Angeles restaurant closures to know about.
My 2 Cents - Mid-Wilshire
Founded in 2013 by Alisa Reynolds and her pastry chef sister, Theresa Fountain, My 2 Cents is a Los Angeles staple for soul food. Reynolds, who hosted Searching for Soul Food on Hulu and was nominated for a Best Chef: California James Beard Award in 2024, announced the closure of the restaurant in an Instagram post. After the restaurant closes on July 31, it will transition into a catering operation while producing a line of products and merchandise. Reynolds told the Los Angeles Times that the shift is something she's been considering for years, and looks forward to feeding people in their homes and doing pop-ups.
Mother Tongue - Hollywood
Michael Mina debuted Mother Tongue in 2022 on the top floor of Hollywood fitness club Heimat with a menu that catered to wellness enthusiasts. (Mina is also the chef behind Orla, which opened in the Regent Santa Monica Beach in late 2024.) The restaurant suddenly shuttered in late June with no formal announcement; its Instagram has disappeared entirely.
Shibumi — Downtown
Less than two weeks after retaining its Michelin star, chef David Schlosser announced his Japanese kaiseki restaurant Shibumi would close on July 19. The closure was announced in an Instagram post on July 7, with Schlosser writing that that 'Shibumi was a revelation in 2015 Los Angeles,' and hinting that future projects are 'on the horizon,' including a collaborative book on the Japan's cuisine and culture from the 1600 to 1800 Edo period. Open since 2015, Shibumi received a favorable review from the Los Angeles Times' former food reviewer, Jonathan Gold, and was a semifinalist for the James Beard Best New Restaurant Award in 2017.
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