Weenie Beenie's last hot dog stand

Weenie Beenie
Originally uploaded by jakedyer.

This is the last remaining Weenie Beenie hotdog stand from a chain of several, at one time owned by Washington, D.C. pool hustler Bill "Weenie Beenie" Staton. The seed money for the purchase of the very first hotdog stand was raised during a gambling trip to Cleo Vaughn's Arkansas poolroom during the winter of 1960.

This is what Staton said about that trip:

"I like to say I made over a million dollars. (That’s because) I won $27,000, and I went home and wanted to invest it. I told my lawyer that I won this money, and I wanted to invest it. He said, ‘Bill, you have to declare that on income tax.’ So, I declared it on my income tax, and then built a little hotdog stand. It was 12 foot wide and 20 foot long. It’s still located in Alexandria, Virginia. The way I figure I made $1 million is from the rent I’ve been collecting all these years."

This picture was sent in by pool fan William McVeigh, who divides his time between Washington DC and Quepos, Costa Rica. This is what he said about the stand:

"The yellow phone pages list only one Weenie Beenie in N. VA, and that is the one in the photos, at 2680 S. Shirlington Rd., Arlington, VA. I remember seeing others in years past, but I don't see them now so they must have disappeared. ... It is significant that this stand is a mere 100 yards down the street from Champion Billiards, the only decent pool room in Arlington County, founded about 15 years ago. But I never happened to see the Bean play there. ..."

-- R.A. Dyer