In what year was Nathan's Famous first opened?

Nathan’s Famous first opened in 1916. Nathan Handwerker and his wife, Ida, started the original hot-dog stand in Coney Island, Brooklyn, using their savings to launch a small business that would become an iconic American brand.

Nathan Handwerker had emigrated from Poland and had worked at Feltman’s German Gardens, another famous Coney Island food business. Nathan and Ida reportedly invested $300, and Ida developed the seasoning recipe used for their hot dogs. They sold the hot dogs for five cents, making the stand attractive to working-class customers.

The original location stood near Surf and Stillwell Avenues and helped establish Nathan’s as a Coney Island institution. The company later became especially famous for its annual hot-dog-eating contest, but that modern spectacle came long after the 1916 opening. The brand’s original hot dogs were all-beef and described as “kosher style,” rather than formally kosher.