The site of the original Fatburger is for sale, which would mean demolishing the 55-year old stand (practically as old as the roman ruins, in LA-time). The stand itself has been closed for the last four years, but the LA Business Journal conjectures the city's conservationists might put up a fight. However, the article offers no concrete evidence that conservationists have their collective panties in a twist over this one. After all, Fatburger is no In-n-Out. Or Tommy's for that matter.
The stand is not yet designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, so its not protected from demolition. The lot is less than one mile from the planned light rail Exposition Line station and is not vacant, but also include a mobile home and storage facilities. Developers could potentially build more than 80 residential units on the site - asking price is currently $4.3 million. Title is still in the hands of the heir to the original Fatburger founder.
All of a sudden, Fatburger's tagline "The Last Great Burger Stand" is just dripping with irony, as well as melted cheese and bacon. Mmmm...bacon-y flavored destruction.
We won't mourn the demolition if we knew we were getting another potential Kanner-type affordable housing project.
· First Stand, Last Stand? [LABJ]