LA's oldest diner, open since 1908 — former bordello upstairs, a ghost in booth #8 who still wears his cardigan
1001 N Alameda St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Counter-service diner; sandwiches under $15
Access
Wheelchair OK
Ground-floor dining room; sawdust-covered floors
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1908 · One of the oldest operating restaurants in Los Angeles · Claimed birthplace of the French dip sandwich · Located adjacent to the historic Chinatown district
Philippe The Original opened in 1908, making it one of the oldest continuously operating restaurants in Los Angeles. Philippe Mathieu, a French immigrant, claims to have invented the French dip sandwich at this location — accidentally, per the legend, by dropping a roll into a pan of roasting juices and serving it to a police officer who returned the next day asking for the same thing.
The building on N Alameda Street, near the historic Chinatown district and steps from what became Union Station in 1939, previously housed a machine shop on the ground floor and was rumored to contain a brothel on the upper floors in the pre-restaurant era. Whether this is documented history or accumulated folklore is difficult to untangle; the building's age and location in what was a rough commercial district make it plausible. The upper-floor dining rooms that Philippe's eventually occupied would have been those same spaces.
The Quon family, who purchased the restaurant in the mid-twentieth century, ran it for two generations. Lem Quon, who operated the restaurant for decades, became a fixture — staff and regulars knew him by sight, by his particular walk, and by the crumpled cardigan he habitually wore. He died before the restaurant's most recent ownership transition. The restaurant passed out of the Quon family in 2001 and remains open under new ownership, still serving coffee at ten cents a cup.
Sources
The haunting accounts at Philippe's come in two flavors, and both are rooted in the building's specific history rather than generic spook-house atmosphere.
The upstairs dining rooms, which occupant lore connects to the building's pre-restaurant era as a probable bordello, carry a reputation for unexplained sounds and a vague sense of crowding when the rooms are nearly empty. PBS SoCal's coverage of haunted Los Angeles locations includes Philippe's in this context, noting the 'ladies of the former bordello' as the attributed presence.
The more specific account involves Lem Quon, who ran the restaurant for decades as part of the family that owned it through much of the twentieth century. After his death, employees began reporting sightings of a figure at booth #8 — identified by two features: an unusual, recognizable walk and a crumpled cardigan, details that match Quon as staff knew him in life. The grandson's employees are credited with the description in regional coverage of LA's haunted dining scene. No formal paranormal investigation of the site has been documented.
Notable Entities
Eat a French dip sandwich in one of the oldest restaurant buildings in Los Angeles. The second-floor dining room — formerly rumored to house a bordello — is accessible to regular diners. Booth #8 is the one the staff watches.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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