Zinc Cafe & Market has shuttered its West Hollywood location at 8607 Melrose Ave, though no reason for the closure was disclosed. The company continues to operate restaurants in Laguna Beach, Corona del Mar, the Downtown Los Angeles Arts District, and Orange.
Founded in 1988 by John Secretan in Laguna Beach, Zinc began as a 500-square-foot breakfast cafe inspired by the Bay Area’s farm-to-table movement, emphasizing organic ingredients and quality dining. “Started 36 years ago with a small 500 sq ft breakfast cafe in Laguna Beach, CA. Many aspects of the business was inspired from the food movement taking place in The Bay Area in the early 80’s,” Secretan said in a 2024 Voyage LA interview. The concept expanded to include a market with takeout, retail, and catering, earning a reputation for accessible, high-quality vegetarian fare. “We are known for having very accessible, great-quality food at an affordable price,” Secretan noted.
Initially an ovo-lacto vegetarian cafe, Zinc introduced meat to its menu in 2024 under new ownership by the SPC Group, a Korea-based company known for Paris Baguette and Sweet Paris Croissant. Vegan options remain available. The shift followed Secretan’s 2019 partnership with SPC, aimed at expansion and his eventual retirement. “My sale of Zinc was not a knee-jerk reaction,” Secretan told Best of Laguna Beach in 2024. “This was a well-thought out expansion and retirement plan that began with my Korea-based partners more than five years ago.”
The partnership faced challenges during COVID, which disrupted growth plans. “All the bread and butter of our breakfast, lunch and happy hour crowds simply left downtown L.A.,” Secretan said, describing the loss of foot traffic in the Arts District. SPC’s resources helped sustain Zinc through economic shifts, including post-COVID changes in customer flow, labor challenges, and inflation. “It’s a different footprint now for every restaurant in the world,” Secretan observed. He remains in an advisory role, confident in SPC’s commitment to Zinc’s legacy. “A significant reason for my partnership with SPC is that I believe they value the original concept,” he said.
Zinc’s mission, as stated on its website, is to foster connection through thoughtful food and aesthetics. “Zinc is a business that provides our employees and customers a sense of place. Zinc has a beating heart,” the company notes. Its environments aim to nurture community, offering a retreat for employees and patrons to recharge in a caring, artistic setting. “Great food, thoughtful people and a beautiful environment is what Zinc strives for every day of its life.”
The closure comes almost exactly one month after Bora Sushi WeHo closed their location at 8729 Santa Monica Blvd on May 21, 2025.
The old space was much cooler when it was Pain Quotidien. The remodel was odd, uninviting and dark with a weird back alley dining area. Urth Cafe is a prime example of what seems to be working in the neighborhood. Once the business was corporatized, it lost its appeal and strayed from the original that opened in Laguna many years ago. The location is phenomenal. With the right concept, a reworking of the space, an an inviting garden like patio with plantings, this place could be a goldmine.
That space is killer and should be making bank for the owners. Idiot business plan, badly implemented, slow to respond to actual demand.