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The original Nathan's

Nathan's Famous is a chain of U.S.-based fast food restaurants specializing in hot dogs. The original Nathan's stands at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in the Coney Island neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.

Nathan's Hot dogs on the grill

Nathan's began as a nickel hot dog stand in Coney Island in 1916 and bears the name of founder Nathan Handwerker. A second branch on Long Beach Road in Oceanside, New York, opened in 1959,^[1] and another debuted in Yonkers in 1965. All were sold by the Handwerker family in 1987, at which point Nathan's was franchised and a great number of establishments were opened around New York City and beyond. The company went public in 1993, and Bill Handwerker, the founder's grandson, left the company three years later.

In the 1990s, Nathan's acquired Kenny Rogers Roasters and Miami Subs Grill. As of September 2001, Nathan's consists of 24 company-owned units, 380 franchised or licensed units and more than 1,400 stores in 41 states, the District of Columbia and 17 foreign countries. International master franchise agreements have also recently been signed with Egypt and Israel^[2]. Nathan's also owns the exclusive co-branding rights to Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips.

Every July 4 since 1916, the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest has been held at the original location on Coney Island. Contestants try to consume the most hot dogs (and buns) in a twelve-minute time period. The Nathan's event is at the center of the competitive eating circuit. Takeru Kobayashi won the 2006 competition by ingesting a world-record 53¾ hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes. This was his sixth consecutive victory in the tournament. In 2007, although setting his personal record of 63 hot dogs and buns (HDBs), he lost to Joey Chestnut by a margin of 3 HDBs who consumed a new world record of 66 hot dogs.

1. ^ This is incorrectly reported on many sites as 1955.
2. ^ Inside Nathan's - Corporate Profile, accessed August 10, 2006

• Nathan's Famous company homepage
• An informative tribute page
• A tribute to Nathan's in Oceanside, NY