TV Restaurants

What Happened to Nickel Diner After Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 7 Los Angeles, California Closed 2023

Current status

Closed

As of October 2026, Nickel Diner has closed — confirmed via abc7.com, May 2023.

What the source shows: ABC7 and KTLA both reported around May 2023 that Nickel Diner closed permanently, citing rising food costs; Yelp's listing (updated April 2026) still marks it permanently closed. How we decide a status →

What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Guy Fieri visited Nickel Diner in downtown Los Angeles for the "Blast from the Past" episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Food Network), aired 2009-10-19. Nickel Diner was known for its diner-food specialties, including a maple-glazed bacon doughnut, baked eggs, a steak sandwich, and fried catfish, according to Wikipedia. ABC7 reported on 2023-05-28 that Nickel Diner would close, citing rising food and ingredient costs and the changing character of downtown Los Angeles as factors the owners called financially unsustainable. KTLA also reported the closure, noting the diner had operated for 15 years before it closed permanently.

Yelp's listing for Nickel Diner, updated April 2026, continues to mark the business as permanently closed. Neither Yelp's April 2026 listing nor the other sources reviewed for this record mention a reopening, relocation, or change of ownership for Nickel Diner since the 2023 closure.

The episode Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 7

Episode 9
Aired
Title: Blast from the Past · What was featured: Maple-bacon doughnuts and comfort-food diner classics
How Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives restaurants have fared: 27% closed →

Also in Season 7 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Season 7: 26 of 39 still open · 2 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 13 Season 7 episodes →

Nearest open restaurants By distance from 524 South Main Street

All 892 TV restaurants in California →

Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 4 references

  1. abc7.com https://abc7.com/downtown-los-angeles-nickel-diner-inflation-rising-food-prices/13272990/
  2. ktla.com https://ktla.com/news/local-news/iconic-nickel-diner-in-skid-row-closes-doors-after-15-years/
  3. Yelp https://m.yelp.com/biz/nickel-diner-los-angeles-2
  4. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_Diner
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Record ddd-0268 · checked by Cal Marchetti.