Tail O' The Internet Gossip

Turns out rumors of Tail O' The Pup's impending demise have been exaggerated, Well, sort of.

It's indeed true that the famed hot dog stand will likely lose its home at the end of the month. But owner Dennis Blake is negotiating with Regent Properties -- which is kicking Tail O' The Pup out of its Cedars Sinai-adjacent location -- about moving further west, to space Regent owns in Westwood.

One problem: The Chowhound poster who first spilled the beans (repeated here and elsewhere) has inadvertently complicated matters, Blake tells the L.A. Times:

Regent Properties Inc. had already found a spot for the Pup in Westwood Village — unless someone rocks the boat before the deal goes through, said Blake, 53, of Westchester. "It's at a Broxton Avenue parking lot, near Weyburn Avenue. It could really work out well. There are a lot of things to work out though."

Blake and his 81-year-old father, who retired from the stand in July, acquired the 59-year-old stand in 1978. They oversaw its relocation in 1986 after it was moved from its original site at nearby La Cienega Boulevard and Beverly Place to make way for a luxury hotel. The pair stored the 17-foot-wide hot dog facade, constructed from stucco-covered chicken wire, at an Alhambra wrecking yard for about a year before renting space on land owned by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Beverly Hills-based Regent Properties bought the site about two years ago, Blake said. It plans to develop condominiums and a retirement community for gays and lesbians, he said.

On a related note, this story appears to be part of a larger trend at the L.A. Times to follow up on items first written up on the Internet. The paper also this week picked up on the expensive reserved parking at the 1100 Wilshire condo development; a news nugget I believe (and correct me if I'm wrong) hit the web first. (The paper also looked into Kausfiles' breathless account of a 'gang rumble' on Halloween in Brentwood, an event no one has still been able to confirm.) Shout-out to the Times for keeping tabs in L.A.'s vibrant web and blog community.

Pic above by Allen J. Schaben, LAT)