What happened to Tail ‘O the Pup? The giant hot dog-shaped icon was forced to exit its West Hollywood location five years ago for a development that never broke ground and now sits in a Torrance warehouse covered by a blue plastic tarp. Older Angelenos remember the days when Pup sat on LaCienega, newer ones the more recently shuttered stand on San Vicente. Now a new generation could be getting the same pup in a new location as owner Dennis Blake tells The L.A. Times, “I’ve been looking for a new place for it for a year – in West Hollywood, West L.A., Santa Monica, even Beverly Hills. Someplace our built-in clientele can find us… I’m ready to rock and roll.”
While no plans are solidified, the Pup’s return is being considered at a perfect time. Fast comfort foods are still enjoying mega-popularity, with recent local examples like Larkin Mackey opening a mac and cheese restaurant, Roy Choi being crowned a Food and Wine “best chef” of 2009, and 8 Oz. Burger still sitting where Table 8 is not. Food trucks have shown the demand for cheap eats on the road, while hot dog vendors proliferate from Let’s Be Frank, vegan Frankenstand, and a dozen Downtown bacon-wrappers to Pasadena’s new Slaw Dogs and the specialty sausage boom from Burbank to Downtown to Westwood to Santa Monica. Not only that, but food-shaped buildings, part of SoCal’s cultural heritage, are set to return. Lastly, the line at Pink’s shows an undying enthusiasm for edible local legends, even when they are average. Pup could surely cash in on all or one of the above trends if it does indeed return to our streets as we ‘re hoping.
Quite a Tale for the Pup [L.A. Times]
