Sizable wieners
Each Nathan’s hot dog is between 61/2 and 7 inches long and served on a 6-inch bun, to ensure the dog sticks out at each end.
Nothing’s more patriotic than stuffing your face
The first hot dog-eating contest took place July 4, 1916, between three men arguing over who was the most patriotic. James Mullen claimed the prize, eating 13 hot dogs in 12 minutes.
Elephants: more patriotic than people
In 2009, Nathan’s hosted a hot dog bun-eating contest between three elephants and three men. The elephants routed the men, chowing down 492 in six minutes to the men’s 180.
These hot dogs sell like hotcakes
There were 500 million Nathan’s dogs sold throughout the world last year alone. Laid end to end, they would stretch more than twice around the circumference of the earth.
Nathans’ Maine source of starch
The potatoes for the french fries are fresh cut and cooked in 100% corn oil. Grown in Maine especially for Nathan’s, the Kahtadin variety of potato contains more starch, which turns to sugar and lends a sweeter taste to the fries.
21st Amendment party on Coney Island
In 1933, Nathan’s served free beer to celebrate the end of Prohibition.
Sandy barely stopped the shop
In late 2012, Hurricane Sandy closed the Coney Island Nathan’s Famous for the first time in its history. Less than six months later, the shop reopened.
These buns span the globe
Nathan’s Famous products are sold in all 50 states at more than 45,000 U.S. locations. But you can also find Nathan’s in far-flung places — Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Australia, Panama, Turkey, Malaysia, Russia, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan and Kuwait.
Sea dogs
The Coney Island menu doesn’t exactly resemble the 1916 version — it now includes oysters, Cherry Stone and Little Necks, lobster rolls and frog legs.
Expanding wiener business outgrew tight space
When Nathan’s opened, the space was all of 5 feet by 8 feet and there was one cash register.
Handwerker’s hot-dog handiwork hailed
Nathan Handwerker was once named to the ranks of the city’s top 100 residents, joining the ranks of Joe Namath, Irving Berlin, Andrew Carnegie and Joe DiMaggio.
