Former Original Pantry Cafe Workers Are Now Cooking the Diner’s Dishes in East LA | Eater LA

"An East Los Angeles restaurant has launched a breakfast menu dedicated to one of the city’s oldest diners and has hired four former employees of that diner who lost their jobs when it closed on March 2. Owner Erika Armenta—who had a final meal at the 101-year-old restaurant before it closed and spoke with a longtime server—says: "One of our friends suggested hiring them as cooks at our restaurant, since we were short-staffed," and adds, "This sparked an idea. I wanted to meet with them and offer a job that would allow them to pursue their true passion, cooking what they loved most: breakfast meals." The special breakfast menu is available daily from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m., with actual longtime cooks from the closed diner preparing pancakes, sausages, and fried potatoes. On Saturday, April 26 the restaurant will host a fundraiser from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., with all proceeds going toward its newest employees. (First reported by NBC-4; Armenta spoke with Eater.)" - Mona Holmes