Sign on the Original Nathan's on Surf Avenue in Coney Island, June 2007

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 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 1955, 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.

Every July 4, Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest is held at the original location on Coney Island. This year will be the 92nd Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. 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.

Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan's_Famous