Coney Island hosts Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest each July 4.
The contest takes place at Nathan’s Famous’s original, best-known restaurant at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island, a Brooklyn neighborhood on the Atlantic coast. Its annual date links the event directly to Independence Day celebrations, while the seaside amusement district provides a distinctive New York setting.
Nathan’s promotes a legendary 1916 origin story in which four immigrants supposedly competed to settle an argument about who was most patriotic. However, promoter Mortimer “Morty” Matz acknowledged in 2010 that the story had been fabricated as a publicity stunt in the early 1970s. The modern contest’s public profile grew especially during the 2000s, when competitive eaters Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut became prominent figures.