A longtime barbecue specialist, one of LA’s most celebrated bars, and more
Los Angeles’s restaurants continue to face difficult headwinds, starting in 2020 with the onset of the global pandemic and exacerbated by the Hollywood labor strikes in 2023, which led to an industry-wide slowdown that continued into 2026. From the lingering effects of the Hollywood strikes to rising costs (labor, rent, ingredients, etc.), many factors continue to strain restaurant owners operating on razor-thin margins. Los Angeles restaurants also continue to struggle with the impact of the 2025 fires, including slow business and devastating property loss, as well as the ongoing effects of ICE enforcement. Here are notable restaurant closures from August 2026. For more closure news, read our past closure coverage.
Employees Only — West Hollywood’s Employees Only, which debuted in 2018 on Santa Monica Boulevard slightly west of Fairfax Avenue, served its final cocktail on September 27. Managing partner Tom Sopit cited challenges with the general dining slowdown in Los Angeles, as well as cost increases with labor, rent, ingredients, and more. He told Eater that the current business and consumer climate made it difficult to stay open. Throughout the years, Employees Only had become a regular destination for those in the industry…