Employees Only, the acclaimed speakeasy-style cocktail bar that has anchored a stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard for nearly a decade, is closing its doors. The West Hollywood venue has announced its final night will be September 27, 2026, giving regulars just a few weeks to grab one last drink before the lights go out for good.
The closure was first reported by WeHo Times, which noted that Employees Only took over the former Baby Blues BBQ space at 7953 Santa Monica Blvd. and had it redesigned to include a main bar, a dining room, a hidden secondary bar called Henry's Room, and an outdoor patio. In its announcement, the bar expressed gratitude to its bartenders, kitchen staff, servers, regulars and familiar faces, and said it hopes to spend its final weeks with the people connected to the venue over the years. Per the same report, the exact reason for the closure has not been disclosed.
Employees Only opened its West Hollywood location on April 18, 2018, bringing a globally recognized New York cocktail brand to the Eastside of West Hollywood. The original Employees Only debuted on Repeal Day, December 5, 2004, in Greenwich Village, co-founded by Dushan Zaric, Henry LaFargue, Igor Hadzismajlovic, Jason Kosmas and Bill Gilroy as a speakeasy haven tailored specifically for hospitality workers, according to Market Watch. The brand went on to expand internationally to cities including Singapore, Sydney, Miami and Hong Kong.
A Speakeasy Pedigree Built On Industry Acclaim
The New York flagship's reputation is difficult to overstate. Employees Only NYC won World's Best Cocktail Bar at the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards in 2011, and as of late 2025 it remained the only venue to appear on every single edition of The World's 50 Best Bars list since the awards began in 2009, landing at No. 95 on the 2025 extended list, according to The World's 50 Best Bars.
The West Hollywood outpost carried that pedigree into its own design. The space, created by Jon Sofio of Built, Inc., featured Art Deco interiors, mahogany accents, a 32-foot brass bar, and an exterior storefront fronted by an actual working psychic reader along Santa Monica Boulevard who rented space from the bar and offered $25 readings, as detailed by Time Out. Tucked inside was Henry's Room, a secret secondary bar named after co-founder Henry LaFargue, complete with its own fireplace and intimate, customized cocktail sessions hosted by Zaric, according to Secret Los Angeles. The venue also carried on the brand's signature ritual of serving full kitchen dinners until closing and handing late-night patrons a complimentary cup of house-made chicken soup before they headed home.
Local Roots Ran Through Balthazar and Midnight Hospitality
The West Hollywood location arrived through a partnership between Zaric and Midnight Hospitality Group operators Tom Sopit and Steven B. Weisburd, with Midnight Hospitality overseeing local operations while Zaric led beverage design, per the Los Angeles Times. The kitchen was originally led by former Balthazar chef Sascha Lyon. The main room ultimately spanned a maximum capacity of 150 standing cocktail guests or 86 seated guests, with a built-in stage, DJ booth and flexible floor plan, according to venue specifications published by Employees Only LA.
Another Santa Monica Boulevard Casualty
Employees Only's exit adds to a string of high-profile cocktail lounge closures along the Santa Monica Boulevard corridor this year. Nearby Las Perlas West Hollywood shut down on May 31, 2026, after nearly six years, citing unsustainably high operating and real estate costs, Hoodline previously reported. That closure followed the same pattern of storefront turnover on the boulevard that Hoodline documented when an açaí spot known as Lazy Bird also shuttered earlier this year.
The broader numbers help explain why. An Los Angeles dining industry survey released in December 2025 found that 84.8% of local restaurant and bar owners reported revenue drops in 2025 due to escalating labor expenses, inflation, and deferred pandemic loans, with many owners describing conditions as worse than the peak of the pandemic, according to the Los Angeles Times. Nationally, market research from RestaurantData showed that 8,171 restaurant and drinking establishments permanently closed across the United States and Canada during the first six months of 2026, with independent operators accounting for more than 60% of that churn, per QSR Magazine.
Zaric's Los Angeles footprint extends beyond West Hollywood. He also co-founded downtown LA's Rick's inside the historic Hotel Figueroa, a bar Hoodline covered shortly after it opened. An Employees Only alumnus also designed the cocktail program for the newly opened Stableford Private Golf Club in Sawtelle, a connection Hoodline reported last month.
For now, Employees Only West Hollywood has a few weeks left before its final pour. The bar has said only that it is grateful to everyone who worked alongside and supported the venue over the years, and that it intends to spend its remaining nights with the bartenders, kitchen staff, servers and regulars who made the space what it was, according to WeHo Times.
