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The Church Key Called It Quits on Easter Sunday

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The West Hollywood party spot is done

The Church Key
The Church Key
Wonho Frank Lee
Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

West Hollywood showstopper The Church Key has unceremoniously closed. The Sunset Strip property opened back in 2013 and had some lauded names come through the kitchen, but now seems to be buttoned up for good.

While reps for the restaurant directly aren’t talking, Eater has heard from several sources — including now-former chef Ryan Ososky — that the place is fully finished. The final day of service was Easter Sunday for the big, expansive restaurant with the dining room up front and bar in the back. For years the place was a high-flying option for upscale diners looking to enjoy a night out with a lounge-y atmosphere and pushcarts filled with plates to sample, but those days have now gone away.

Intriguingly enough, the restaurant’s website and social media channels don’t say a word about the shutter. The Church Key’s OpenTable is still open as well, but when attempting to stop in for a bite last night the place was apparently dark inside and all locked up.

The Church Key was able to hold on for five years along one of the more demanding stretches of the city, where rents are high, foot traffic often low, and competition fierce. A Wahlburgers managed to open along Sunset last year and 2016’s arrival of Obicá has stabilized an oft-turning storefront further east, but The Guild lasted only a full year across the street from the Church Key before closing. No word on what’s next for the property. As for talented chef Ryan Ososky, he’s quietly working on a new project in Downtown.