Jay Walks

Has Jay flipped his last Jayburger?

The tiny burger shack -- located at the corner of Virgil and Santa Monica Blvds. -- has shut down, with a fence blocking the entrance and a sign thanking patrons for 47 years of service.

The boards at Chowhound have been abuzz over the fate of the famed stand -- which even recently made it into an episode of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm." One poster suggested that Jay's is only temporary shut down, as builders erect a strip mall around it.

But according to another, more recent post, Jay's is indeed dead, for now:

Here's what the owner's daughter told me: "As far as I can tell the closing at this location is permanent. We have had it with the disrespect and disregard for our business from the property owners. We respect their right to improve their property and encourage it but we apparently just don't matter. Thank you so much for your support and response on behalf of me, my Dad Jay and the Jay's crew. If anything should come up I will let you know."

Jay's was founded in the late 1950s by former Tommy's cook Jay Coffin; the burger shack narrowly escaped closure in 2000, when a rent hike threatened to put it out of business. As has become local burger lore, Michael Leko of Eat Well bought the stand and kept it open.

(Pic via blogging.la)