LA's landmark hot dogs turn 70
by Kiran Alvi
How long would you be willing to wait in line for a hot dog?
Well, if you are craving one of the 21 different gourmet hot dogs from what is probably the most famous hot dog stand in Los Angeles, stand back and relax because it will be a while.
Pink's, located near the corner of Melrose and La Brea, just celebrated its 70th anniversary – and with a creative spin. In the beginning of November, for seven days, their famous chili dogs sold for $.70 for 70 minutes and all the proceeds went to a charity of a particular celebrity for the night. On Bill Cosby’s charity night, Cosby himself flew in en route to Vancouver to make an appearance at the landmark hot dog stand.
And Hollywood’s elite are anything but foreign to Pink’s. Their walls are covered with photos from celebrities have that stepped foot in the classic building. From Orson Welles to Ellen DeGeneres, customers who come by see the celebrity endorsements.
But regular customers do not only come because their favorite movie star likes it. They do too.
This stand did not start off with the nearly two dozen kinds of hot dogs, huge celebrity following, and lines that circle around the building that it has now. In 1939, it was a hot dog cart purchased by Betty and Paul Pink with only four menu items: hot dogs, hamburgers, steak sandwiches, and tamales.
Today, Pink’s has become an eatery synonymous with gourmet hot dogs, the celebrity scene, late hours and, of course, LA.
Being the largest city in California, spanning 498.3 square miles, the city of angels has countless eateries to choose from. A place like Pink's, however, offers patrons filling and interesting food choices late into the night. When the clock strikes 12 and many places are closing doors, Pink's might still have a 45-minute wait outside. Beverly Pink, daughter of Betty and Paul, explained that few places like Pink’s are still in existence.
“There aren’t many places where generations have come for years,” she said. “Here, fathers will come with sons and grandsons and show them where they sat when they first came. It's almost like Pink's is a part of the peoples' history too.”
Betty Pink encouraged her husband, Paul Pink to purchase a hot dog cart she saw being advertised. She bought it for $50 – and purchasing that was a stretch. 
“It was $50 we didn’t have,” Richard Pink, son of Betty and Paul, said. “But she convinced him.”
Starting was not easy either. Betty wielded the cart all the way from La Cienega to La Brea, roughly 2 miles, to bring it to the location it is at now. And even the grounds were a little different.
For $15 rent per month, the Pink’s operated their hot dog cart on a plot of land covered in weeds. Since no utilities were available on the weed-filled land, they used over 100 yards of cable extensions to power the little cart from a hardware store down the street.
When the Great Depression hit, rent jumped significantly to $25. Not too long after though, Betty and Paul purchased the land for $4000 and started to develop their business further.
The building that visitors see now was erected in 1946 and has only been added to since then. Now there are two bathrooms with pink granite, a storage room that stores the thousands of hot dogs used each day, a parking lot, and an outdoor seating area that seats more than 80.
Betty died in 1992 and Paul died not too long after in 1996. Now, Richard and his sister Beverly work alongside Gloria, Richard's wife, to run the stand that started as Betty's little dream and became LA's food phenomenon.
It might be hard to believe that Pink's started off with only four items on the menu. Hot dogs were $.10 and cokes were $.05. Now, there are over 21 kinds of hot dogs - with new ones being created frequently - and 12 kinds of burgers. 
"Our parents weren't too keen on adding all these additional hot dog styles and toppings to the menu," Richard said. "But after the Mulholland movie dog [created after parts of the movie were filmed at Pink's] proved to be a success, we just started expanding."
Options now range from the Ozzy Ozbourne Spicy Polish Dog and the Pat Morrison Baja Veggie Dog to the Martha Stewart Dog and the L.A. Philharmonic Conductor Gustavo Dudamel Dog, a relatively new creation.
"It's one of those things that keeps bringing them back," Gloria said. "They want to come back and try something they didn't get to eat before."
"All our customers are to thank for our success," Gloria said, "But we've continued to offer the same, great service and we're still the same Pink's we were when we opened - only better."
Richard, Beverly and Gloria agree that there are many reasons why Pink's has become such a large success.
The food - Pink's offers a wide variety and has not stopped adding new items since it started in 1984.
Consistency - "People can expect the same quality and the taste each time they come," Beverly said.
Employees - Most of their employees have been with Pink's for many years and regular customers remember them. “It’s been said that we only hire employees with IQs of 180,” Richard Pink said. “It just goes to show that we very smart, sharp people working for us.”
Service - "You can expect the same, quality service every time you come," Gloria said. "We're always friendly and love our customers."
Atmosphere - The unique set up (waiting outside) with its history in that same location, bring generations of people back here, Gloria said.
"See, we have such a great following from our customers and celebrities," Gloria said. "It's because of our reputation and our history that even celebrities like Bill Cosby would stop by for one of our events."
Hollywood connection - With celebrity endorsements and appearances and showcases on several TV shows, Pink's has become a popular name in Hollywood intriguing people from outside.
Promotion - from a bilboard on La Brea to advertisements on television and through travel show segments, the name Pink's has been promoted and adverstised for years.
Contact: alvi@usc.edu