Pink's Hot Dogs, the Hollywood institution that has been slinging oversized chili dogs since the Great Depression, is finally leaving the country. The family-owned chain is partnering with Japanese restaurant management company Sunpark to open its first international location in Tokyo, with the flagship overseas store expected to open by the end of the year.
Pink's confirmed the Japan expansion to City News Service, saying its Hollywood location has welcomed many Japanese guests over the years. The exact Tokyo address and opening date have not yet been announced, though the companies say they plan to expand beyond that first restaurant. Sunpark, which operates more than 100 restaurants throughout Japan, will manage the new location.
The Osaka-based company is no stranger to importing American consumer brands. Sunpark has served as the master franchisee in Japan for U.S. boutique fitness names including StretchLab, Pure Barre, and YogaSix through agreements signed between 2023 and 2025, according to Business Wire. That track record in scaling American brands across the country is part of why the deal carries such long-term ambition: per JapanUp! magazine, the master franchise agreement signed in late July sets a plan to open 20 Pink's locations across the greater Tokyo region by the end of 2030.
From a $50 Pushcart to a Global Brand
Pink's story began in 1939, when Paul and Betty Pink bought a hot dog pushcart for $50 and started selling near La Brea and Melrose avenues in Los Angeles, according to City News Service. The stand became a permanent brick-and-mortar fixture on La Brea Avenue in 1946, and the intersection itself was later cemented into the city's civic memory: the Los Angeles City Council officially designated that corner “Pink's Square” in March 2018, according to the Beverly Press.
The road to that permanent stand wasn't smooth. When their landlord raised the pushcart lot's monthly rent from $15 to $25 in 1941, Paul and Betty Pink secured an uncollateralized $4,000 loan from Bank of America to buy the La Brea property outright, per the Los Angeles Conservancy. What started as a cart selling fewer than 100 hot dogs a day has since grown enormously: the flagship stand now serves roughly 1,500 to 2,000 hot dogs and 200 hamburgers daily, according to Voyage LA.
What Made Pink's a Hollywood Landmark
Pink's built its reputation on oversized hot dogs piled with chili, cheese, bacon, jalapeños, and onion rings, alongside a celebrity clientele and famously long lines, per City News Service. The Hollywood location's Wall of Fame displays more than 200 signed celebrity photos, including one tied to a memorable Aretha Franklin story: the singer once hired a Pink's staffer to fly hot dogs to a Detroit mansion party, then wore a Pink's hat onstage during a Los Angeles performance in exchange, as detailed by Chowhound.
The chili on those chili dogs has its own origin story. Betty Pink created the recipe herself back in 1939, and it has been manufactured off-site by the same specialized vendor for more than 60 years, the outlet reports. The hot dogs themselves rely on custom-made all-beef franks from local supplier Hoffy, produced in natural casings measuring 9 and 12 inches — intentionally longer than standard buns so customers get a bread-free first bite.
Sourcing Questions Loom Over the Tokyo Menu
Replicating that exact combination of vendor-made chili and Hoffy franks thousands of miles away is likely to be the central operational challenge of the Tokyo expansion, a detail the same Chowhound history piece underscores. The Tokyo restaurant will include hamburgers, side dishes, desserts, and drinks in addition to hot dogs, and Pink's expects to offer about 15 varieties of hot dogs at the new location, per City News Service. The company also plans to offer Japan-exclusive items tailored to local tastes, while the exact lineup for opening day has not been disclosed.
Despite the international leap, Pink's says it remains family-operated. The chain has previously expanded to other restaurants across Southern California and Nevada, and before its international ambitions, Pink's established more than a dozen venue-based outposts inside major Southern California institutions such as Universal CityWalk, the Los Angeles Zoo, Raging Waters, and county fairgrounds, according to Metrolink. Tokyo, however, marks its first full overseas brick-and-mortar venture.
Part of a Bigger L.A.-to-Tokyo Food Trend
Pink's isn't the first Los Angeles culinary landmark to make the jump to Japan. Randy's Donuts opened its first Japanese storefront in Tokyo in 2025, a launch that KFI AM 640 frames as part of a growing pattern of historic L.A. food brands entering the Japanese market. Hoodline previously covered that doughnut chain's expansion push beyond its original footprint, as well as its move into an off-Strip Las Vegas casino.
For longtime fans of the La Brea Avenue stand, the Tokyo news adds another chapter to a brand that Hoodline has followed closely, including its 85th anniversary celebration at the Hollywood flagship in November 2024, when the chain sold 85-cent chili dogs for charity. Whether the Tokyo location can replicate the exact taste of a Hollywood Pink's dog remains to be seen, but with 20 locations planned across greater Tokyo by 2030, Sunpark and Pink's are betting Japanese diners will get plenty of chances to find out.
