Pink's Hot Dogs Robbed At Gunpoint

Pink's Hot Dogs, a beloved Los Angeles institution or tourist trap nightmare depending on whom you ask, was hit in an armed robbery this morning. The LA Times reports:

A gunman robbed the landmark Pink's Hot Dogs early Monday, stealing a tip jar when employees were unable to open a safe, Los Angeles police said.

The thief, who was captured on surveillance video, walked up to the restaurant at the intersection La Brea Ave. near Melrose Ave. around 3:35 a.m. and demanded cash from a safe.

When employees said they could not access the money, the man stole a tip jar from the counter.

A hot dog stand, located on one of the city's busiest intersections, might strike one as an unusual choice for an armed robbery. But for those who have braved the endless lines for what ends up being pretty much just a hot dog, it might make a bit more sense.

Comments

[libertyanne]

04:45 PM on 04/06/2010

The workers may be lucky the tip jar was available to give the robbers to keep them from being shot. In their honor I will have hotdogs for supper.

[wutzurbeef]

04:02 PM on 04/06/2010

This robber will soon be the infamous 'tip-jar bandit'.

[jcd8822]

03:02 PM on 04/06/2010

Regardless of whether or not one likes Pinks, or even will eat a hot dog, it takes a low life to steal a tip jar.

[hypnotoad72]

01:38 PM on 04/06/2010

If people knew what was ground up and sluiced to make the 'meat' in a hot dog, never mind "what that is" that the 'meat' is encased in, people wouldn't continue to eat them.

Back to the casing, I won't do the usual joke routine.
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Hot_dog

[CabinGuy]

02:31 PM on 04/06/2010

I know and I still love them. They taste really good.

[gswinfield]

09:47 PM on 04/06/2010

Pink's hot dog are the best in the universe period!!!! A chili cheese bacon dog is worth the wait!!!! May the low life get caught.....

[learninglife]

12:46 PM on 04/06/2010

The Martha Stewart Dog is quite good - but I don't relish the hour-long lines.

[Oleg1]

03:54 PM on 04/06/2010

Relish?!
But who cut the mustard?

[Marioth]

12:06 PM on 04/06/2010

I live 2 blocks from Pink's. You can smell the place if the wind is right. Intoxicating! The neighborhood itself is quite jewish with a lot of orthodox. There's a factory at the end of the street that turns teenagers into rabbis, and the young men are on the streets all hours of the day and night. It has always felt quite safe. Pinks is a landmark, and Hollywood begins two blocks north of Pink's, so we get that sketchiness.

During the recession, the lines at Pink's dwindled. Usually snake-like, wrapping around the block, there were times when only a dozen people were in line on a Thursday evening. The lines are better now, but still not what they were, esp. at night.

My landlady has been compelled to lower my rent twice in the past year. All her places are renting for about 30% less. Took over 4 months to fill the next door apt. It's a renter's market in the land of Sun and Bankruptcy, soon to return to Rancho Santa Anna.

[Oleg1]

12:42 PM on 04/06/2010

"My landlady has been compelled to lower my rent twice in the past year."
This is bovine manure. The chili fumes went to his head, poor chap.

[gswinfield]

09:51 PM on 04/06/2010

I use to deliver mail on Pink's route in the 1980's the lines were forever but worth the wait.....

[John Olsen]

11:40 AM on 04/06/2010

So the idiot who wrote this story was just looking to create flame bait? Rather than talk about Pink's, I'd like to point out what a sorry excuse for a news writer this story's author is.

[JailNeoconVicts]

11:59 AM on 04/06/2010

No kidding. No wonder there's no byline, that last paragraph--not in the LA TImes article, but a "witticism" supplied by someone at hvffpost, is an embarrassment.

[Oleg1]

11:23 AM on 04/06/2010

His real crime was not gettin' one of their Polish dogs.

But hey, he avoided the line!!!

[Hopster1]

11:22 AM on 04/06/2010

Personally, I think The Stand is way better than Pinks.

[Oleg1]

11:50 AM on 04/06/2010

In L.A. there is only one ( that I know of) place that can even pretend to sell a decent sausage. And it is ....drum roll.... Wustkuche. There's a good place in downtown Portland I visited , but I don't remember the name. Pink's is is drek ... but with chili.

[Prowler]

10:35 AM on 04/06/2010

Why didn't he steal some dogs? Apparently they are worth a lot of money.

[richnerd]

10:12 AM on 04/06/2010

People have more passion about hot dogs then any other issue facing the country....that's what I love about America. That being said, let's start with the hot dogs: All beef, custom seasoning and a natural casing that pops with every bite. It has everything to do with the hot dogs. The only other competition was the Weiner Factory where Elmer Dills claimed the hot dogs were the best in Los Angeles. Alas, they couldn't afford the raise in their lease and shut down.

If you have ever seen the queue of people waiting for their Pink's dog you would never pull a gun without worrying that 5 others would get the drop on you first. Rough neighborhood.

[Oleg1]

11:24 AM on 04/06/2010

"People have more passion about hot dogs then any other issue facing the country."
This is a stoopid comment.

[WriterGuy]

11:29 AM on 04/06/2010

Pink's is hardly in a "rough neighborhood." It's right in the middle of a large fashion district along La Brea avenue, with lots of high-end shops up and down the street. It's like saying West 57th in New York is a rough neighborhood if someone gets mugged near one of the boutiques...

[Oleg1]

11:40 AM on 04/06/2010

, I am familiar with both Melrose/La Brea and 57th/ Fifth/Madison areas.
By comparison La Brea is a hellhole with hideous building and a few pathetic no-name stores.
It is not a rough neighborhood but it sho' is uuuugly.

[Tequilatarian]

06:41 AM on 04/06/2010

Every time I drive by, there are a bazillion people in line..so seems like an odd place to rob.

Also, this:
http://hotdogspot.com/2004/06/costco-burbank-post-industrial-funk.html

The Burbank Costco AND Wienerschnitzel both rate higher than Pink's, LOL

I put people that wait forever for a Huffy Dog in the same category as people that wear Ed Hardy crap.
There...I said it.

[vancedecker]

08:44 AM on 04/06/2010

Are you smoking something? Wienerschnitzel is disgusting. Furthermore, most food in LA is overrated.

Now, I hate to make this post all about you, but what planet are you from? An Ed Hardy hipster dufus is totally different than the sad parade that frequents Pink's.

[pizzmoe]

09:44 AM on 04/06/2010

Where do you live, Kentucky?

[dogdave]

05:17 AM on 04/06/2010

I would be willing to die
if I couldn't get my pinks chili dogs

[PurpleFraze]

05:10 AM on 04/06/2010

Oki-Dog: 2 hotdogs, chili with beans, cheese, bacon and pastrami, all wrapped in an oversized flour tortilla. Ughhh...

[JulieDole]

02:36 AM on 04/06/2010

OK that tip jar is officially as cursed as the Ark of the Covenant.