Nathan’s Famous

Appears in

Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America

Published 2004

About

In 1915, Nathan Handwerker, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, answered a “help wanted” advertisement and got a job at Charles Feltman’s restaurant in Coney Island, New York. Feltman had originated the sausage in a bun concept, charging ten cents for this quick meal. Handwerker worked at Feltman’s for a year, then, with $300 savings, he opened a hot dog stand of his own a few blocks from Feltman’s.

Handwerker cooked his frankfurters on a twelve‑foot grill and sold them for a nickel, but underpricing Feltman was the least of his ploys. At his stand, he installed signs with horns that sounded like fire‑engine sirens, and it is said that he hired students, outfitted them in white coats, and had them eat at his stand, giving the impression that his hot dogs were so wholesome that they were eaten by doctors.

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