25-Year-Old Chinatown-Themed Dive Good Luck Bar Is Closing in Los Feliz

Los Feliz’s famous dive Good Luck Bar is closing, according to an announcement made on Twitter. Eater had also confirmed the news earlier from two Good Luck bartenders, who claimed the 25-year-old bar was approaching its final days.

The announcement says that the dive bar was initially inspired by Chinatown’s classic Yee Mee Loo Bar, which was demolished to make way for what LA Magazine had called “the world’s ugliest minimall.” The closure is a nostalgic loss to the Los Feliz neighborhood, which continues to lose much of its longtime character. In a cruel twist of fate, Good Luck Bar is also closing to make way for a new development, which is rumored to include a hotel and new restaurant.

Good Luck leans heavily on the Chinese luck theme. Wooden dragons are placed throughout, with ample amounts of red everywhere including bright red Chinese lanterns, dark red walls, and a bar shaped like a Buddhist temple. Good Luck is a quintessential LA dive bar, though some might find the use of stereotypical Chinese motifs and kitsch a bit distasteful in 2019. Still, on a recent weeknight visit, the bar was completely full with bartenders pouring the Tiki-esque cocktails until late hours.

First opened in 1994 by Sean MacPherson and Jon Sidel, Good Luck Bar was one of the few remaining LA bars from the 1990s that they opened, including Jones Hollywood and El Carmen. MacPherson also opened West Hollywood’s Barbette with Jared Meisler in 2018.

Good Luck Bar. 1514 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, CA

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