Preservationists don't like what a developer has on the menu for 1605 N. Vine St.
The Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency plans to sell property around Molly's Charbroiled Burgers -- the purple-and-yellow shack with the Coca-Cola sign -- to Pacifica Ventures. In its place between Hollywood and Sunset boulevards would rise an eight-story office building.
Preservationists claim Molly's burger stand is a potential cultural landmark. They joined the stand's owner at a City Council session earlier this month.
Kiok Yi, the stand's operator, hired an attorney in an effort to stop the sale. Yi requested that the project be delayed until after officials consider Molly's historical significance.
Whether you've walked passed it amid the bustle of Vine or made it a regular lunch-time stop, you're one of many to have done so over the course of 80 years.
The stand opened in 1929 -- the banner above the row of red stools will tell you that -- as part of a fuel station. It was known as Mom's Place.
It became the Curb Charbroiler in the 1950s before it was named Molly's in the 1960s.
More recently, the "Bad Grandpa" skit from the movie "Jackass 2" was filmed at Molly's. Check out Molly's Facebook page for that video and some "OLDDDDD PICs" of the stand.
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For your stomach's information, Molly's serves more than burgers. It opens for breakfast weekdays at 7 a.m.
Price Isn't Right for Everyone
Preservationists also are upset about the price of the sale -- $825,000. Critics said the price "constitutes an unconstitutional gift of public funds."
The redevelopment agency bought the land for $5.4 million.
As part of the deal, Pacifica must rent space only to entertainment businesses for five years, according to the LA Times' report.
"People have to understand the numbers," Neelura Bell, the agency's Hollywood project manager, told the LA Times. "We didn't just back into this. We looked at the reasonable return to the developer."
The redevelopment agency has set aside money to relocate Molly's. It's not clear to where the stand would move.
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