Original Pantry cooks find a new home — and loyal customers — at East LA taco spot

Alejandro Ortiz drizzled powdered sugar on the sourdough French toast, a staple at the Original Pantry Cafe, when he greeted and joked with a longtime customer sitting across the counter.

“A majority of people who are coming here, I already know,” said Ortiz.

Except this wasn’t the Original Pantry in downtown L.A., which shut its doors this year after 101 years of service.

This was at East Los Tacos in East L.A., affectionately dubbed “East Los Pantry,” where a handful of longtime Pantry cooks have found a new home since losing their jobs when the diner closed on March 2. Here, they brought their signature breakfast dishes – and a following of loyal customers.

The “East Los Pantry” breakfast menu is available from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and serves many of the classics like the breakfast platter with two eggs, choice of meat, crispy fried potatoes and sourdough bread, as well as French toast as a side or as a full platter, just like it was at the Pantry.

Breakfast staples served at East Los Pantry.

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Jacqueline Ramirez

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Boyle Heights Beat

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The idea to hire the Pantry cooks came to East Los Tacos owner Erika Armenta after having one last meal at the diner before it closed. She and Ortiz spoke and said their farewells. “He was really sad about saying goodbye,” she said. Armenta thought of the workers who, after being there for decades, would soon be out of a job.

“That kind of stuck with me, and one of our friends was like, ‘You should hire them. You need cooks,’” Armenta said.

Armenta was on the lookout for cooks, but she needed people who knew how to prepare their food, like the tacos they serve with asada, al pastor, chorizo and other meats.

“It gave me another idea. How [about] we bring them in and we do breakfast? Because that’s what they know how to do,” Armenta said.

Armenta proposed the idea to Ortiz, who consulted with the other cooks. “I didn’t know if we were going to be accepted here, but thank God we’ve had a great impact,” said Ortiz, who worked for the Pantry for more than 25 years.

East Los Pantry workers cook up breakfast plates.

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Susanica Tam

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Boyle Heights Beat

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At the Pantry, Ortiz worked as a cleaner, a cook, and most recently as a server.

“People have been very supportive. I’m very happy. This is my hobby. I do it because I like it. I like to cook. I like to serve and meet people,” Ortiz said.

To Armenta, the experience has been rewarding.

“It’s been fun. It’s been a lot of work. Definitely, it’s been a challenge, because it’s completely new to us, but having them have the skills and so much background has made it so easy,” Armenta said. “They’re hard-working. They love what they do. As a business owner, that’s what you’re looking for when you’re hiring people at your company.”

A handful of longtime Pantry cooks have been serving breakfast staples at East Los Tacos since losing their jobs when the diner closed on March 2.

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Jacqueline Ramirez

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Boyle Heights Beat

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A group of workers at the Original Pantry Cafe in downtown L.A.

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Photo courtesy of Alejandro Ortiz

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On Monday morning, construction workers Cesar Fashen and Jerry Gonzalez stopped by East Los Pantry for breakfast. They ordered sausage, bacon, and ham with eggs and sourdough.

“We drove all the way from San Pedro just to come here,” Gonzalez said.

Fashen, who frequented the Pantry for two decades, spotted Ortiz right away.

Back then, Fashen remembers stopping by the Pantry when he would clock in early to “work on the high rises” downtown. The diner was also a place where he gathered with his family. He remembers chatting with Ortiz when he and his wife would sit at the counter.

“The kids used to love it,” he said. “Even though we had to wait an hour in line, we would be right there waiting. No matter how long it [took] to wait, we were going to eat [there].”