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LADWP cafeteria reopens to public to keep its cash register ringing
The LADWP's John Ferraro Building
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T Hoffarth/Flickr (Creative Commons-licensed)
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More than a year ago, security concerns prompted the L.A. Department of Water and Power to close its cafeteria to the public. The utility’s reversing its decision.
The basement-level cafeteria in the John Ferraro building won fans among downtown workers and jury pool members, who appreciated the reasonable prices as much as the food. But in September of last year, DWP officials closed the eatery to visitors.
About six months later, cafeteria concessionaire Sodexo told the utility it wanted out of the contract because the finances weren’t working out. DWP and Sodexo renegotiated that contract.
Workers in the Bunker Hill headquarters’ emergency control center need food, the reasoning goes. And it’s efficient to offer 2,500 people who work in neighboring Hope Street buildings somewhere to eat that’s within walking distance of their offices.
So the cafeteria will reopen to the public in January. Lunchtime customers will have to present identification and sign in, just as they did before.
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