When most people think of Cupid, they imagine a nude toddler flying around with a bow and arrow aiming his arrows of love at mortal souls. However, for hot dog lovers, Cupid’s means only one thing, a really good, cheap hot dog.

One of the original locations of the infamous hot dog stands is across the street from CSUN at Lindley Avenue and Nordhoff Street. A chili dog for $2.25 makes this old time food stand one of the favorites for locals.

In accordance to today’s theme, I set out on a quest for the history of Cupid’s and the origin of its name. I started asking around at the hot dog stand and found the employees and managers at three separate locations did not know why it was named after the popular Valentine cherub.

Several patrons I asked shrugged when asked if they could take a guess as to why it was named after a love god. One employee in Simi Valley speculated that the owner named it for the love of his wife.

Alas, Cupid’s Hot Dog’s website’s only explanation was that owner Richard Walsh, who had longed to open a hot dog stand for years, had a dream one night that told him to “name his hot dog stand after the Roman god of love.”

Cupid’s celebrated their 60th anniversary in 2004 and has been a reciepent of AOL Cityguide’s Best Hot Dog in Los Angeles.

Long-time customer, Allen Shear, may have hit the nail on the head when he said, “(Cupid’s) is the only hot dog you might possibly fall in love with.”