Nathan’s Famous Inc

In 1915 Nathan Handwerker, a Polish immigrant, answered a help wanted advertisement for Charles Feltman’s restaurant in Coney Island, New York.

Feltman opened up the first hot-dog stand on Coney Island in 1874. Feltman is said to have ‘invented’ the hot dog buy by his simple act of putting a wiener inside a bun and he sold for a dime apiece.

Feltman’s stand eventually became a full-fledged restaurant, serving more than 2 million customers a year by the end of the second decade of the twentieth century.

Handwerker work for a year and with $300 in savings he opened a hot dog stand for his own a few blocks from Feltman’s.

Handwerker rented a building at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues, where Nathan and his wife Ida opened Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs in 1916.

He sold his famous 100% beef frankfurters, seasoned with a blend of spices and garlic. It’s opened 12 months a year and does a brisk business even while the amusement are is boarded up against the winter winds.

The first Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest took place in Independent Day 196, which brought more notoriety and name recognition.

When Feltman’s finally shuttered it doors in 1954 Nathan’s Famous expanded, opening chains in other cities.

New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani declared Nathan’s as ‘the world’s best hot dog’ in 1999.
Nathan’s Famous Inc