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Nathan's Famous, Inc. is an American company that operates a chain of
fast-food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast food, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...
s specializing in
hot dog A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...
s. The original Nathan's restaurant stands at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in the
Coney Island Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...
neighborhood of
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York City. The company's headquarters are at One Jericho Plaza in
Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...
, part of
Oyster Bay, New York The Town of Oyster Bay is the easternmost of the three Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns that make up Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, United States. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is ...
.


History

Nathan's began as a nickel hot dog stand in Coney Island in 1916 and bears the name of its co-founder Nathan Handwerker (1892–1974),Nathan Handwerker
at the United States Social Security Death Index via FamilySearch.org. Retrieved on July 24, 2015
Abstract of subscription article. who started the business with his wife, Ida Handwerker, née Greenwald. Ida created the hot dog recipe they used, and Ida's grandmother created the secret spice recipe. Because Nathan's Famous all-beef hot dogs lacked rabbinic supervision and the meat wasn't kosher, Handwerker coined the term "
kosher style Kosher style refers to Jewish cuisine—most often that of Ashkenazi Jews—which may or may not actually be kosher. It is a stylistic designation rather than one based on the laws of ''kashrut''. In some U.S. states, the use of this term ...
" because the hot dogs were not made from pork or horse meat. Handwerker was a Jewish-Polish immigrant who arrived in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1912 and soon found work at the
Coney Island Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...
,
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, restaurant Feltman's German Gardens. By one account, he was encouraged by singing waiters
Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...
and
Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...
to go into business in competition with Feltman's; as
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noted in 1974, "There are many stories about Nathan and how the business began, but this is the way he told it..." The company's official history does not mention the future stars' encouragement. Nathan and Ida spent their life savings of $300 (worth about $7,000 as of May 2018, accounting for inflation) to begin the business. Handwerker undercut Feltman's by charging five cents for a hot dog when his former employer was charging 10 cents. At a time when food regulation was in its infancy and the pedigree of the hot dog particularly suspect, Handwerker ensured that men wearing surgeon's smocks were seen eating at his stand to reassure potential customers. The business proved immensely popular. The expansion of the chain was overseen by Nathan Handwerker's son, Murray Handwerker. A second branch on Long Beach Road in Oceanside, New York, opened in 1959, and another debuted in
Yonkers Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...
, New York, in 1965. Murray Handwerker was named the president of Nathan's Famous in 1968, the year the company went public. All locations were sold by the Handwerker family to a group of private investors in 1987, at which point Nathan's was franchised and a great number of establishments were opened around New York City and beyond. In the 1990s, the company acquired Kenny Rogers Roasters and Miami Subs Grill, both of which were later divested. , the company consisted of 24 company-owned units, 380 franchised or licensed units and more than 1,400 stores in 50 states,
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
, the District of Columbia, and 17 foreign countries, including Kandahar Airfield,
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. One unit was lost due to the collapse of 2 World Trade Center in the 9/11 attacks. International master franchise agreements were signed (''circa'' 2006) with Egypt and Israel. The company also owns the exclusive co-branding rights to the Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips chain. On March 28, 2017, it was announced that Nathan's Famous had reached a sponsorship deal with
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
, allowing the company to market itself as the official hot dog brand of the league. While Nathan's was already the official hot dog brand of the
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,
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,
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, and St. Louis Cardinals (the sponsorship does not restrict teams from making similar deals with competitors), the deal marked the first time that Major League Baseball had named an official hot dog sponsor. Nathan's hot dogs are primarily manufactured by Smithfield Foods, a subsidiary of China's WH Group. Nathan's Hot Dogs can also be found in stores for
retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...
sale, usually in the
lunch meat Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, delicatessens, and deli meats—are precooked or cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in ...
aisle. In 2002,
Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...
and Nathan's terminated a co-locating partnership which offered Nathan's space within certain Home Depot stores in New York.


Original location

, the original Nathan's hot dog stand still exists at its original 1916 site. Having been open for business every day, 365 days a year, the stand was forced to close on October 29, 2012, due to
Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late ...
. The shop re-opened six months later, on May 21, despite a small fire on May 4, 2013. Service is provided year-round inside, and during the summer additional walk-up windows are opened to serve the larger seasonal crowds. The original location still features fried
frog legs Frog legs () are the muscular hindlimbs of frogs that are consumed as food by humans in some cuisines. Frog legs are rich in protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, and potassium. They are often said to taste like chicken because of the mild fl ...
, which have been a Nathan's menu item since the 1950s. It is not offered at any other Nathan's locations. Nathan's also operates a second, smaller location nearby on the Coney Island boardwalk.


Hot dog eating contest

The
Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest The Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest is an annual American hot dog competitive eating competition. It is held each year on July 4 at Nathan's Famous' original, and best-known, restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell ...
has been held annually at the original location on Coney Island since the early 1970s on the
4th of July Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...
." Contestants try to consume as many hot dogs as possible in 10 minutes. Winners include
Takeru Kobayashi is a retired Japanese competitive eating, competitive eater. Described as "the godfather of competitive eating", he is a six-time Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest champion and widely credited with popularizing the sport. Competition and records ...
(2001–2006), Joey Chestnut (2007–2014, 2016–2023) and Miki Sudo (women's 2014–2018). In 2008, Chestnut tied Kobayashi after eating 59 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. The tie resulted in a five hot dog eat-off, which Chestnut won by consuming all five before Kobayashi. In 2018, Chestnut consumed 74 hot dogs and buns for a new world record.


See also

*
Coney Island hot dog A Coney Island hot dog, Coney dog, or Coney is a wiener in a bun topped with a savory meat sauce and sometimes other toppings. It is similar to a chili dog and is often offered as part of a menu of classic American diner dishes and at Coney Isl ...
*
Kosher style Kosher style refers to Jewish cuisine—most often that of Ashkenazi Jews—which may or may not actually be kosher. It is a stylistic designation rather than one based on the laws of ''kashrut''. In some U.S. states, the use of this term ...
* List of Ashkenazi Jewish restaurants * List of hot dog restaurants *
List of New York companies A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...


References


Further reading

* * Christoff, Chris (April 1, 2014)
"Detroit's Coney Island Hot Dogs Are Edible Solace for City"
''
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...
''. * * . * . * * * Yung, Katherine and Joe Grimm (2012). ''Coney Detroit''. Detroit, Michigan:
Wayne State University Press Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press) is a university press that is part of Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 186 ...
. .


External links

* *
Sol Handwerker Interview - Nathan's son recounts growing up in the family business - conducted: August 1 2007 by Coney Island History ProjectOral History of Nathan's Famous - CIHP
{{Authority control 1916 establishments in New York City Brand name hot dogs Companies based in Nassau County, New York Companies listed on the Nasdaq Coney Island Fast-food chains of the United States Fast-food franchises Hot dog restaurants in the United States Jews and Judaism in Brooklyn Oyster Bay (town), New York Restaurants established in 1916 Restaurants in Brooklyn Ashkenazi Jewish restaurants Jewish restaurants in New York City Hot dog restaurants in New York (state)