LOS ANGELES, CA — Employees Only, a New York-style cocktail bar and restaurant that has operated in West Hollywood since 2018, will close its doors later this month after nearly a decade in business.
The establishment, located at 7953 Santa Monica Blvd., has announced that its final day will be Sunday, Sept. 27.
The closure ends the West Coast chapter of a venue that became part of West Hollywood’s nightlife and restaurant scene, serving craft cocktails and food from its Santa Monica Boulevard location.
The restaurant’s official website confirms the address and describes the venue as a West Hollywood restaurant and bar combining New York-style sophistication with its cocktail program.
Employees Only cites mounting business pressures
The closure was announced Sept. 7, with the restaurant thanking customers and employees who had been part of its history.
The business did not point to one specific event as the reason for closing. Instead, representatives described a combination of pressures that had accumulated over time.
Those pressures included inflation, higher wages and increasing costs for goods, among other expenses associated with operating the restaurant.
The explanation comes as restaurants and other hospitality businesses in West Hollywood continue to navigate higher operating costs.
The City of West Hollywood requires non-hotel businesses to pay a citywide minimum wage of $20.25 per hour in 2026. The rate applies from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2026.
The city also requires businesses to provide employees with compensated and uncompensated leave under its minimum-wage ordinance.
Those requirements are part of the broader operating environment faced by restaurants in the city, although the closure announcement did not identify any single city policy as the cause of Employees Only’s decision.
Final night will support employees
Employees Only plans to remain open for several more weeks before its final service.
The restaurant said its final night, Sept. 27, will be an industry night, with items from the establishment being auctioned and proceeds going directly to employees.
The closing event will give longtime customers and members of the local hospitality industry an opportunity to return before the venue permanently shuts down.
Employees Only also thanked the people who worked at the restaurant and those who visited over the years, describing the venue as a place that accumulated memories through its years in West Hollywood.
The business is continuing regular operations before the final night. Its official hours and location page lists service from 5 p.m. until late evening, with later closing times Thursday through Saturday.
A longtime Santa Monica Boulevard venue
Employees Only opened its West Hollywood location on April 18, 2018, taking over a space that had previously been occupied by Baby Blues BBQ.
The venue was designed around several distinct areas, including a main bar, an outdoor patio and dining space, as well as a secondary hidden bar known as Henry’s Room.
The restaurant’s official materials describe it as an elevated neighborhood cocktail bar and New American restaurant.
Its West Hollywood location became the brand’s presence on the West Coast. The venue was developed by Midnight Hospitality Group, which describes the restaurant as the West Coast location of the Employees Only concept that originated in New York.
The Midnight Hospitality Group project page identifies the West Hollywood property at 7953 Santa Monica Boulevard and describes its cocktail and food programs.
Closure comes during a difficult period for local restaurants
Employees Only is not the only West Hollywood restaurant facing changing business conditions.
The city itself acknowledged earlier this year that local restaurants were operating under pressure and introduced a Restaurant Grant Program intended to provide financial assistance to qualifying businesses.
According to the City of West Hollywood, the program was created in response to economic conditions affecting restaurants, including financial hardship associated with lease obligations, operating costs and declining revenue.
The city conducted more than 70 individual outreach meetings with restaurant businesses before developing the program.
Eligible businesses could apply for grants of up to $12,500, although the program was limited to qualifying restaurants and applications are now closed.
That broader economic backdrop provides context for the challenges described by Employees Only, while the restaurant itself has attributed its closure to a combination of factors rather than one specific cause.
Other West Hollywood closures add to changing nightlife landscape
The Employees Only announcement follows several other notable restaurant and bar closures in the West Hollywood area.
The Belmont, a longtime nightlife venue known for its Sunday karaoke nights and varied music programming, closed at the end of August after 26 years.
Drake’s Hollywood, an upscale restaurant in the West Hollywood Design District, also closed after approximately three years of operation.
The closures have contributed to a changing restaurant and nightlife landscape in an area known for its concentration of bars, restaurants and entertainment businesses.
West Hollywood continues to identify nightlife and restaurants as important parts of its local economy. The city’s business development department describes restaurants, tourism, nightlife, entertainment and media among the industries that contribute to the city’s business environment.
Employees Only has a few weeks left
For customers hoping to visit Employees Only before it closes, the restaurant will continue operating through Sept. 27.
The final night will be dedicated to the hospitality industry, with merchandise and other items from the venue being auctioned and the proceeds going directly to employees.
The restaurant has encouraged longtime customers and supporters to return during its final weeks.
After Sept. 27, the nearly eight-year run of Employees Only on Santa Monica Boulevard will come to an end, closing another chapter in West Hollywood’s restaurant and nightlife scene.
The closure does not appear to have been caused by a single event. Instead, the business has described a cumulative effect from rising costs and other pressures that eventually made continuing operations unsustainable.
