Franchises sucking the local flavor out of L.A.
As the city trends toward corporate coffee shops, ice cream parlors and sandwich joints, even the long-standing Wiener Factory in Sherman Oaks is getting the boot.
The Wiener Factory has been at the same location in Sherman Oaks for 36 years.
Much of the ground floor is devoted to retail. The businesses are: the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Cold Stone Creamery, Quiznos, Robeks and Chipotle.
Throw in a Radio Shack, Victoria's Secret and two Starbucks, and you get the feeling that's what every single block in all of Los Angeles will look like one day: a bethonged populace stumbling from franchised burrito to lattes and back.
Turning our attention to the north, another example of the franchise-ization of Los Angeles is underway. The venerable Wiener Factory in Sherman Oaks has lost its lease. The single-outlet hot-dog stand that has been a fixture on Ventura Boulevard for the last 36 years is going to . . .
Be replaced by what?
Pinkberry, the chain purveyors of fancy frozen yogurt or, in the views of some, a yogurt-like substance.
The chain plans to lease the site but is still trying to persuade residents that the tiny parcel has enough parking.
In the meantime, a Valley institution is left with no home. The good news: Kevin Lentz, the Wiener Factory's owner, says that he's knee-deep in offers from fans of his restaurant to help relocate.
In an interview last week, we asked Lentz if he sees this as a parable for what's happening around the city.
"When I was growing up here in the '50s and '60s, L.A. had a reputation that the streets were paved with gold," he said. "It was a wonderful place to raise your kids, and there were mom and pops all over. They were family-run businesses. You would go in, and everyone knew you by your first name, and they took care of you.
"The business community nurtured the residents. Nowadays, with the franchises, it seems to be more cold. There doesn't seem to be that personal interaction," he added. "That's something we've always tried to do here. And if we go out and open other locations, that's not going to change."
Amen, brother.
Does the Wiener Factory have the best hot dogs ever?
Among hot-dog enthusiasts, that's a loaded question -- kind of like asking which religion is best.
In our humble view, the Factory serves a more-than-competent dog, thus the reason for the lines inside at the counter and outside at the takeout window.
Still, we've yet to have a hot dog here as good as Superdawg in Chicago.
