Danny's Oki Dog Stand

Danny’s Stand Avoids Closure, 1985. unknown. Image courtesy of UCLA Special Collections.

This artifact is an article published by James Rainey on February 27th of 1985. It was featured in the Los Angeles Times and is titled, “Danny’s: Stand Avoids Closure.” The article was published at a time when Danny’s was in danger of being shut down.

Sakai “Jimmy” Sueyoshi immigrated to the US from Okinawa with no money. But little did he know that within the next 22 years he would be owning one of the most popular hot-dog stands in the Los Angeles area. He had gone from sleeping on the streets, to helping those who were on the streets with food and work. Nevertheless, the years leading up to his famous—and infamous—hot-dog stand were not easy, especially as an immigrant. Sueyoshi named his hot-dog stand after a city of his homeland Okinawa, an island in Japan. He called his 24/7 stand Oki Dog, and it was located at 7450 Santa Monica Blvd., an area in West Hollywood that was surrounded by nightclubs. Oki Dog was best known for its eponymous “oki dog” sandwich, which contained two hot dogs, chili, cheddar cheese, pastrami and grilled onions wrapped in a flour tortilla. It was said that Sueyoshi was the first to create this combination. But Oki Dog wasn’t only famous for its menu offerings, but also as a “center for disgusting behavior” (Rainey). In the ’70s, with its proximity to nightclubs like the Starwood and the Whisky, it was the hangout spot for punk rockers who would congregate at the stand after clubbing or late-night gigs (Muñoz). As a 24/7 stand, it was also a hangout for “drug pushers, prostitutes, thieves, and other criminals, according to officials of the Sheriff’s Department” (Rainey). The neighbors didn’t like this scene.

West Hollywood during the 1980s was simultaneously home to both an avant-garde, liberal community and a socially conservative community in the form of Jewish and Russian immigrants arriving during the late 1970s. This contrast manifested itself as the conflict over Oki Dog, with conservative elements generally pushing for the relocation or shutdown of the business and liberal groups viewing the establishment as a sanctuary for their socially alternative community. In mediating this dispute, the Los Angeles Police Department would generally take the side of the complainants, using a direct and heavy-handed approach to disperse crowds of people even when there were no reports of illicit behavior. Overall, there was an institutional bias toward removing or disrupting the operation of the stand, as local officials viewed it as a hotspot for crime and undesirable people, factors that negatively affected public satisfaction. This represented a suppression of the punk rock community and other groups of social misfits and in turn, contributed to the gentrification of the neighborhood.

As complaints from neighbors bombarded the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Los Angeles County district attorney responded and cited community complaints ranging from narcotics to prostitution in a 318-page lawsuit. In light of the suit, Sueyoshi hired private security, cleared trees and brush that obstructed tables from passing police cars, and changed the hours to close from 3 to 6 a.m. (Rainey). Arrests in the area dropped from 200 a month to less than a dozen. In February of 1984, Jerry Pacht, a Santa Monica Superior Court judge, blocked any injunction from closing down Danny’s Oki Dog. The judge believed the decrease in crime and Sueyoshi’s improvements warranted dropping the injunction against the establishment. Pacht also did not fully believe all the crime in the area could be attributed to the hot-dog stand.

The history of Oki Dog attests to the immense problem of gentrification occurring all over Los Angeles. The original location of the establishment was deemed unsuitable to the higher-income residents living around it, so the community urged the Los Angeles City Council to change its location from Santa Monica and Vista to Fairfax (Pavlik). As a result, Oki Dog was reconstructed to become a more luxurious high-end restaurant surrounded by security guards (Pavlik). Then and now the influx of wealthy individuals leads to the beautification of less affluent regions and an inevitable increase in property rent. Lower-income residents, who called Los Angeles their home for many generations, are forced to move out in hopes of finding a more affordable place. Furthermore, many local mom-and-pop shops close down because of higher rent payments and changes in demographics. Urban renewal seems wholly beneficial, but it comes at the expense of the less fortunate.

Works Cited

1. Gold, Jonathan. “Trans-Global Junk Food.” LA Times, 4 Oct. 1990.
2. Muñoz, José Esteban; “Gimme Gimme This… Gimme Gimme That”: Annihilation and Innovation in the Punk Rock Commons. Social Text 1 September 2013; 31 (3 (116)): 95–110.
3. Pavlik, Alan. “Things Not to Do in Los Angeles.” Just Above Sunset. 11 June 2006, Link
4. Rainey, James. “Hot Dog Stand Beats D. A.’s Bid to Close It.” Los Angeles Times. 7 Feb. 1985: 1. Print.

Cite this article

Sam Chai, Annya Dahmani, Anai Figueroa, David Hu, Christian Israelian. "Danny's Oki Dog Stand." Los Angeles: The City and the Library. Colleen Jauretche, Editor. Fall 2018. /article/2018-11-21-f18-1-01