Nathan’s Famous holds its July 4 contest around hot dogs, specifically Nathan’s hot dogs served in buns. The annual competition takes place at the company’s original restaurant near Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
Contestants have ten minutes to consume and keep down as many hot dogs and buns as possible. Judges count partially eaten portions, and competitors may drink water or other beverages. The event is sanctioned by Major League Eating and has become a nationally recognized Independence Day tradition.
The contest is often said to date to a 1916 patriotic argument among immigrants, but Nathan’s promoter Mortimer Matz later acknowledged that this origin story was fabricated as a publicity stunt in the 1970s. The documented modern contest is associated with the 1970s and later expansion.
Do not confuse the event with a general barbecue or hamburger-eating contest: the scored food is hot dogs with buns. Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi helped make it internationally famous.