Arthur Elkind; Famed for His Food
Arthur Elkind, the frankfurter entrepreneur whose chili dogs were proclaimed by aficionados as the finest in this city, died Tuesday at his Los Angeles home of an apparent heart attack.
The onetime chemical engineer who turned to hot dog sales when he could not find work as an engineer during the Depression was 80.
Elkind first opened Art’s Chili Dogs at a small stand at Florence and Normandie avenues in 1939.
At his death he had sold millions of hot dogs from a stand that never included more than 14 stools.
Elkind--known as much for his no-nonsense approach to his customers as for his food--became a favorite among old-time Angelenos, many of whom drove miles for both his fare and his unsolicited opinions on world affairs.
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