A Kitchen Fire Has Temporarily Closed LA Dining Icon A.O.C.

Genre-defining California restaurant A.O.C. is down for the count temporarily, following a small fire that started in the kitchen last night. Customers with reservations are being rerouted to the group’s other restaurants Lucques and Tavern, and there is no official timetable for reopening, though it seems the damage should only cost them a few days.

Reps for the restaurant say that ultimately the fire remained relatively contained, and that no one was hurt. They also praised the response time and effectiveness of responding local firefighters, saying they were “very lucky” to have a “fantastic” crew arrive almost immediately to keep the fire damage to a minimum. Management says they’ll reassess over the weekend on when A.O.C. will be able to once again take reservations, but the team is hopeful for something early next week.

A.O.C. is a seminal Los Angeles restaurant, and widely considered one of the best places to dine in the entire state. The California-focused small plates restaurant is run by the outstanding chef/restaurateur duo of Suzanne Goin and 2018 James Beard Foundation award-winner Caroline Styne. They’re of course not the first to have to deal with medium-to-small kitchen fires in the past few years, as both Jon & Vinny on Fairfax and, more recently, Bestia have overcome the flames only to return stronger (and more popular) than ever.

A.O.C. 8700 W. Third St., Los Angeles, CA.

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