DINING 'FOMO' LEADS TO LONG LINES AT CLOSING RESTAURANTS

AS SOME OF THE CITY'S MOST BELOVED SPOTS ANNOUNCE CLOSURES, DINERS QUEUE FOR A FINAL TASTE. WHY DO THEY WAIT TO VISIT AT THE BITTER END?

- KARLA MARIE SANFORD

ANGELENOS aren't strangers to waiting in hours-long lines for food. Most days of the week, you can count on a parade of customers patiently waiting for crusty, fermented rings from Courage Bagels. In Chinatown and Pasadena, diners still line up for Nashvillestyle hot chicken from Howlin' Ray's, which opened its first location in 2016. In Historic South-Central, trails of people queue outside of Mercado La Paloma hours before it opens each day, hoping to try Yucatecan-style mariscos from Holbox, the chart-topping counter stall from Gilberto Cetina.

"When it's really good, there's no time limit," said Brenton Graham, a FedEx driver who waited in line at Howlin' Ray's in Chinatown's Far East Plaza during a recent lunch break.

But as local restaurants face mounting challenges and struggle to remain open, this year saw hordes of diners lining up for a final taste at some of the city's most beloved spots after they announce an imminent closure.

Call it a case of dining FOMO, with an ironic twist.

In August, Tokyo Fried Chicken, a fast-casual diner ranked on the 101 Best Restaurants in L.A. guide for three years running, shuttered downtown. Some customers reported waiting in line for an hour before ordering, only to wait another hour for their food to come to the table.

July saw crowds wrapped around the corner of 6th and Main streets after Cole's French Dip-the city's oldest restaurant and saloon -announced its imminent closure. A few months before that the Original Pantry Cafe, a century-old diner in downtown L.A., drew similar lines when the restaurant abruptly shuttered.

I queued up at Papa Cristo's before the 77-year-old Greek restaurant and market closed its doors forever this spring.