That nostalgic taste of Coney Island that you’ve come to love has reached its centennial. Founded in 1916 by Polish immigrant Nathan Handwerker, who borrowed $300 to open his Brooklyn hot dog stand, Nathan’s Famous American Hot Dogs is celebrating its landmark birthday with a little taste of history.
The company will be offering its hot dogs for just 5 cents, the original 1916 Coney Island price, at the original Nathan’s Famous store at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues on Saturday, May 28 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Additional 5 cent hot dog day deals are available at Nathan’s restaurants and supermarkets across the country, and consumers can preregister for these deals at Nathans5Cent.com to receive special coupons via email. The first 10,000 registrants will also receive a special, 100th-anniversary wooden-coin souvenir.
“Nathan’s Famous hot dogs are an integral part of the New York City experience and the American experience,” shared former 26-year President and Nathan’s Famous Executive Board Member, Wayne Norbitz. “The unmatched quality of the hot dogs and their cultural significance has helped the brand to grow throughout the United States and around the world.”
Nathan’s explains its success in part by its marketing strategy, with the company says implements a multi-faceted points-of-distribution strategy, in addition to growing its restaurant system. The company thinks outside the box in foodservice, by enabling others to sell its signature hot dogs as a branded product. Nathan’s Famous ties itself in as a key part of both the New York City and the American experiences, giving it a cultural significance that makes it recognizable and nostaglic worldwide.
From its humble beginnings to today, Nathan’s Famous now sells more than 500 million hot dogs per year in more than 53,000 retail and foodservice locations, in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Cayman Islands, and in ten foreign countries.
