Nathan's Famous
Nathan's Famous, Inc., is an American company that operates a chain of fast-food restaurants specializing in hot dogs. The original Nathan's restaurant stands at the corner of Surf and Stillwell avenues in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. Its restaurants are primarily in the Northeastern United States. The company's headquarters are at One Jericho Plaza in Jericho, part of Oyster Bay, New York.
In January 2026, it was announced that Nathan's Famous had agreed to be bought by Smithfield Foods in a $450 million, all-cash transaction.
History
Nathan Handwerker was a Jewish-Polish immigrant who arrived in New York City in 1912 and soon found work at the Coney Island, Brooklyn, restaurant Feltman's German Gardens. By one account, he was encouraged by singing waiters Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante to go into business in competition with Feltman's; as United Press International noted in 1974, "There are many stories about Nathan and how the business began, but this is the way he told it..." The company's official history does not mention the future stars' encouragement. Nathan and his wife, Ida Handwerker, née Greenwald, spent their life savings of $300 to begin the business together.Nathan's began as a nickel hot dog stand in Coney Island in 1916. Ida created the hot dog recipe they used, and Ida's grandmother created the secret spice recipe. Because Nathan's Famous all-beef hot dogs lacked rabbinic supervision and the meat wasn't kosher, Handwerker coined the term "kosher style" because the hot dogs were not made from pork or horse meat.
Handwerker undercut Feltman's by charging five cents for a hot dog when his former employer was charging 10 cents. At a time when food regulation was in its infancy and the pedigree of the hot dog particularly suspect, Handwerker ensured that men wearing surgeon's smocks were seen eating at his stand to reassure potential customers. The business proved immensely popular.
The expansion of the chain was overseen by Nathan Handwerker's son, Murray Handwerker. A second branch on Long Beach Road in Oceanside, New York, opened in 1959, and another debuted in Yonkers, New York, in 1965. Murray Handwerker was named the president of Nathan's Famous in 1968, the year the company went public.
All locations were sold by the Handwerker family to a group of private investors in 1987, at which point Nathan's was franchised and a great number of establishments were opened around New York City and beyond. In the 1990s, the company acquired Kenny Rogers Roasters and Miami Subs Grill, both of which were later divested.
In 2002, Home Depot and Nathan's terminated a co-locating partnership which offered Nathan's space within certain Home Depot stores in New York.
International master franchise agreements were signed with Egypt and Israel. The company also owns the exclusive co-branding rights to the Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips chain.
On March 28, 2017, Major League Baseball announced that it had reached a sponsorship deal with Nathan's Famous, allowing the company to market itself as the official hot dog brand of the league. While Nathan's was already the official hot dog brand of the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Miami Marlins, and St. Louis Cardinals, the deal marked the first time that Major League Baseball had named an official hot dog sponsor.
Nathan's hot dogs are primarily manufactured by Smithfield Foods, a subsidiary of China's WH Group. Nathan's Hot Dogs can also be found in stores for retail sale, usually in the lunch meat aisle.
On January 21, 2026, Nathan's Famous announced that it had been sold to Smithfield Foods for $450 million. Smithfield will acquire all outstanding shares of the company, effectively taking it private. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026.