The Old New York Page
1955
Nathan's Famous (est. 1916) at Coney Island was founded by Polish immigrant Nathan Handwerker (1892–1974) with a $300 loan. He landed on Ellis Island in 1912.
He first worked as a roll slicer for Feltman's (1871-1954), selling Coney Island Red Hots. The term hot dog was banned then by Coney Island's Chamber of Commerce for connoting dog meat.
Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante convinced Nathan to leave Feltman's, and start his own stand, which sold hot dogs for 50% less at a nickel each.
Nathan's wife Ida was behind the hot dog ingredients, using her grandmother's secret spice recipe.
Servers in 1916 wore surgeon smocks to project an image of cleanliness. Nathan's promoted samples to doctors and nurses.
The meat packing industry had been scandalized by Upton Sinclair's The Jungle (1906) for corruption and lack of hygiene.
The hamburger did not make a comeback until world's first fast-food chain White Castle (1921), projecting whiteness (walls, uniforms, buildings) for cleanliness.
By 1920, 75,000 hot dogs were sold on weekends at Nathan's. Police regularly gave double-parked cars a break. Customers have included FDR, Stalin and Churchill (Nathan's takeout sent to Yalta -Updated).
From 1950s-2010s, Nathan's sold a popular Chow Mein Sandwich, originally from 1930s-40s Fall River (MA), popular with French-Canadians and Europeans, nostalgic for 1959-born local Emeril Lagasse.
RFK campaigned at Nathan's in 1964. In 1968, Nathan's expanded, eventually with 300 restaurants across the US, supplying supermarkets in 50 states. Nathan's would eventually expand to 17 nations worldwide.
Originally Nathan's became the official food vendor for Woodstock (1969) for 400,000 music fans, but bowed out when the festival location moved from Woodstock.
Nathan's hot dog eating contest became an annual event from 1972, watched by 2 million people in 2011 on ESPN.
Takeru Kobayashi won 2001-06 titles, and set 8 world records eating hot dogs, meatballs, Twinkies, tacos, hamburgers, pizza, ice cream and pasta.
On July 4, 2001, Kobayashi ate 50 hot dogs in 12 min. He reached 69 by 2011.
There was a legendary story of the first hot dog eating contest at Nathan's taking place on July 4, 1916, to determine which of 4 men was most patriotic. James Mullen won, eating 13 hot dogs in 12 mins. But the story was fictional.
Nathan's share price peaked at $41 in the 1970s, but dwindled to $1 during the 1981 recession, nearly collapsing.
There were loud calls to diversify, but Nathan's son Murray Handwerker stayed true to the hot dog. By 1986, Nathan's sold 20 stores and a packaged products business for $19 million.
Nathan's at Coney Island closed for the first time in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy and reopened again, teeming with business.
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