The owner of East Los Tacos has hired three former employees of the Original Pantry Café, following its closure after being in business over 100 years. Jonathan Gonzalez reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on April 18, 2025.
It’s the classic LA breakfast that was around for more than 100 years. And then, suddenly, it disappeared.
But Carlos Palacios thought there was something about the breakfast he had recently at family-owned East Los Tacos in East Los Angeles that reminded him of meals past at the now-closed Original Pantry in downtown LA.
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“I was like, wait, this is like, a familiar flavor that I've actually recognized for a long time,” said Palacios. “A cook comes out and he introduced himself. ‘Hey, what's going on?’ You know, ‘Did you like the breakfast?’ I'm like, ‘Yeah, it reminds me of The Pantry.'
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SIGN UP "He laughs and he's like, ‘Well, I'm actually the cook for The Pantry.’ I was like, ‘Wait, what?’”
After more than a century in business, The Original Pantry, which bragged for decades about never closing their doors, closed for good in March. Regulars were stunned and saddened, while more than two dozen workers, many of whom had worked there for decades, lost their jobs with little warning.
“First of all, we wanted to make sure we went in there and had our last meal at The Pantry,” said Erika Armenta, owner of East Los Tacos. “I came home, and I couldn't get it off my head and I felt like, 'What can we do for them? What can we do for these people who are losing their jobs in a matter of few days?'"
Armenta had an idea.
She called Alejandro Ortiz, who lost his job at the Pantry after more than 25 years.
“And then, for my surprise, Erika, she called me two hours later and she told me, ‘Hey, I got something for you,’” Ortiz said.
“I met with them and I offered them to come to East LA, come to East Los [Tacos] and let's make it your new home,” Armenta said.
The business owner hired Ortiz and three other former Pantry workers to create “East Los Pantry,” the small restaurant’s take on the classic diner’s most popular meal.
They’re offering the same Pantry staples including pancakes, sausage patties and those famous Pantry potatoes every morning and early afternoon.
“I think the customers are very excited about it, just like I am, too,” Armenta said. “I’m a breakfast lover, so making it part of our menu made me very happy and we’re very excited about what's going to happen with adding the menu.”
So far, the response has been very positive.
“It's crazy how that nostalgia came over here. You know, the whole flavor came over here,” Palacios said. “I thought I was going to be gone forever, but it really isn’t. It tastes the same.”
It’s the best compliment for Ortiz, who oversees the small team of former Pantry workers.
To support them for the wages they lost between jobs, East Los Tacos is holding a fundraiser April 26 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., donating all the money raised during their new breakfast hours directly to their newest employees.
“I’m so really happy,” Ortiz said. I’m so excited. I’m still working.”
