NYC EATS

“No one can hope to be elected in this state without being photographed eating a hot dog at Nathan’s Famous.” – Nelson Rockefeller, Governor

A Polish Jewish shoemaker, one of 13 children, Nathan Handwerker arrived in America in 1912. He worked as a delivery boy and dishwasher before landing a job as a roll slicer at Feltman’s Restaurant in Coney Island, where hot dogs were invented. As one of Feltman’s 1,200 workers serving 8,000 customers daily, Nathan was earning five bucks a week. Two struggling singing waiters, Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante (yes, that Eddie Cantor and that Jimmy Durante), convinced Nathan to open a competing hot dog stand nearby and charge 5 cents a dog, undercutting Feltman’s 10 cent franks.

In 1916, Nathan and his wife Ida spent their $300 in savings on a tiny stand on the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues, near the beach. Ida’s grandmother contributed the recipe for Nathan’s franks. At first people were skeptical of nickel hot dogs...What were they made of that they could be so cheap? To allay customer’s fears, Nathan invited interns from nearby Coney Island Hospital to eat free franks as long as they wore their white hospital uniforms. The tactic worked; when customers saw doctors and nurses happily enjoying Nathan’s hot dogs, they figured the food must be healthy, and started lining up.

Nathan’s was perceived as “the hot dog stand for the people”, while Feltman’s remained “for the elite”. Customers wanted to tell their friends about the new stand, but it didn’t have a name yet. Then, in 1925, a customer suggested calling it “Nathan’s Famous”. The rest is history.

When the subway was extended to Coney Island, Nathan’s Famous was the first stop for many visitors, and still is today. Thousands crowded the street surrounding the expanded restaurant, now serving seafood, chowder, frog’s legs, corn on the cob, and those thick, rippled, salty french fries served in cones. By the 1960s, Nathan’s Famous hot dogs were available at supermarkets across the country. At last count, there are 238 Nathan’s restaurants located worldwide, including Kuwait, Russia, Egypt and Turkey.

A journalist once wrote that, “What Junior’s is to cheesecake, Tiffany’s is to diamonds, and Nathan’s is to hot dogs.” The opening night celebration of the New York City Opera in 1969 took place at Nathan’s; the star-studded gathering of tuxedoed gentlemen and diamonded ladies dined on hot dogs and fries. In 2000, the Museum of the City of New York created “The New York City 100”, a list of the most influential New Yorkers of the twentieth century. It included Andrew Carnegie, Joe DiMaggio, Irving Berlin, Fiorello La Guardia, and, you guessed it, Nathan Handwerker.

One of Nathan’s most popular promotions is their annual 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, begun in 1972. It’s a huge, rowdy street party surrounding the original Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island, featuring an extravagant stage, music, costumes, a “weigh-in” of contestants, and considerable pomp and circumstance. The festivities are televised by ESPN, which enjoys solid ratings for the event. The contest is sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE), and the winner receives a massive mustard-colored belt. The 2021 winner was none other than 14-time champion Joey Chestnut, who consumed 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.

Charles Feltman may have invented hot dogs, but Nathan Handwerker made them cheap, exciting, fun, and available everywhere...a symbol of Coney Island and New York City for the whole world to enjoy.

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