---
title: "Why the Soviet Union wanted to nuke this hot dog stand"
date: "2021-07-09"
modified: "2021-07-10"
authors:
  - name: "Blake Stilwell"
    job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran"
    link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/"
url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/ussr-nuke-hot-dog-stand/"
categories:
  - "Cold War"
  - "History"
  - "War History"
---

# Why the Soviet Union wanted to nuke this hot dog stand

![Hot dog in a poppy seed bun topped with mustard, chopped onions, pickle slices, tomato slices, and a whole pepperoncini pepper.](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/hot-dog-5448146_1920.jpg>)
*A real victory (Image by \<a href="https://pixabay.com/users/jamstraightuk-12700531/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5448146" target="\_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"\>jamstraightuk\</a\> from \<a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5448146" target="\_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"\>Pixabay\</a\>)*

For around 30 years, the food court at the center of the Pentagon's courtyard was an easy source of mid-afternoon calories for the hungry planners of a potential World War III with the Eastern Bloc. There was just one problem, and it wasn't the food.

It was said the Soviet Union had at least two nuclear missiles pointed at it at all times.

---

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/19194738/origin.jpg>)
*Target Acquired (Planet.com/ Fair use)*

The hot dog stand, replaced in the early 2000s with another, presumably less hot dog-oriented food stand, was the center of life for a lot of the Cold War lunches had by the staff at the nation's most important military building. It was said that the Soviet Union watched the comings and goings of top U.S. military brass in and out of the tiny structure in the middle of the courtyard every day.

They surmised it must be an important planning center or command and control bunker. So, obviously, when the war broke out, it would have to be one of the first things to go. Two ICBMs should take care of it.

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/19194771/origin.png>)
*And most of the DMV area.*

"Rumor has it that during the Cold War the Russians never had any less than two missiles aimed at this hot dog stand," Brett Eaton, an information and communications officer for Washington Headquarters Services, told DoD News. "They thought this was the Pentagon's most top-secret meeting room, and the entire Pentagon was a large fortress built around this hot dog stand."

No one in Russia has ever confirmed this rumor, but the stand still earned the moniker "Cafe Ground Zero." In reality, substantiated or not, the hot dog stand was smack dab in the middle of the United States' most important military building. Since the blast radius of the Soviet Union's best and biggest nuclear missile was big enough to wipe out New York City along with parts of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, it stands to reason that destroying the hot dog stand at the center of the Pentagon would just be a win for clogged arteries.

---

*Feature image: DoD photo*

## Author
Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house.

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