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Before the end of summer, an outpost of Hollywood icon Pink’s Hot Dogs should be up and running in the King of Prussia mall. The hot dog stall is going into the sprawling mall’s newish fancy food court — Savor, a strip of eateries, opened two years ago. Pink’s is planning for a late summer opening.
The story behind the original Pink’s in LA goes back to the late 1930s, when Paul and Betty Pink started selling hot dogs from a pushcart in Hollywood and soon attracted a celebrity following. By 1946, the couple had saved enough money to open their permanent hot dog stand near the corner of La Brea and Melrose, where today people wait in line for an hour for a chance to buy a chili dog.
The Pinks didn’t retire until 1985, passing the stand down to their kids. It’s still family-run, and covered in signed celebrity headshots. Some of those photos will go up in the King of Prussia franchise.
This will be Pink’s first Pennsylvania shop. Along with chili dogs, the KOP location will serve a Chicago Polish dog (mustard, relish, onions, lettuce, tomato), a veggie dog, and, of course, a Philly Cheesesteak Dog, among other choices.
Three other restaurants — North Italia, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, and Marketplace Eatery — are also in the works at the mall. The mall and surrounding area has seen a restaurant boom in recent years.
