Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles is rolling into Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, bringing its famous chicken and waffles to the city’s busiest rail hub. The lease is signed, but there is still no official opening date on the books. When doors finally open, the restaurant will give travelers and commuters a rare thing inside the station’s concourse, a high profile, sit down option instead of the usual grab and go fare.
SFGATE spoke with Union Station leasing agent Derrick Moore of CBRE, who confirmed that the lease was signed in “early to mid 2025” and said Roscoe’s is expected to take over roughly 3,000 plus square feet, including an outdoor patio. Moore described the deal as “successful in bringing Roscoe’s to Union Station,” though the restaurant group has not shared any public timeline for when diners will actually be able to sit down with a plate.
Big rail overhaul next door
The Roscoe’s move is landing just as Metro advances its major Link Union Station (Link US) project, a sweeping overhaul intended to convert the station’s stub end tracks into run through tracks and expand passenger space. According to LA Metro, the agency certified a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report in October 2025. Streetsblog LA reports that the initial phase carries an estimated $3 billion price tag, with early construction expected to start in spring 2026. Between the transit overhaul and new food leases, Union Station’s footprint is being quietly reshaped for the next decade.
Timing lines up with major events
Union Station already pulls serious crowds, more than 100,000 visitors on a typical day, according to SFGATE. On top of that, Los Angeles is a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and will welcome the 2028 Summer Olympics, events expected to push even more passengers through the station, per FIFA and local reporting on the LA28 Games plan. With those timelines converging, it is not hard to see why leasing teams have been eager to lock in recognizable dining names for the concourse.
Roscoe’s legacy and local reaction
Roscoe’s celebrated its 50th anniversary in October 2025 and has signaled plans for more locations across Southern California, according to a company press release. News of the Union Station spot has sparked mixed reaction online. A recent Reddit thread, featuring photos of a sign teasing the opening, quickly turned into a debate over the chain’s food and ownership.
The Union Station dining lineup has shuffled in recent years. The Imperial Western Beer Company project arrived around 2018, then gave way to Homebound Brew Haus, which ultimately closed in early 2024, according to coverage in The Infatuation. Roscoe’s would be one of the more prominent names to fill that void…