The Nathan's Famous hot dog, born right in Coney Island, has achieved cult status. Standing the test of time, Nathan's is celebrating a milestone this year: its centennial. NY1's Jeanine Ramirez filed the following report.
The sizzle of Nathan's hot dogs has been drawing crowds for generations.
"I've been coming here 30 years or more," said one Coney Island visitor.
"Whenever we get a chance, we stop by and we eat them," said another.
"It's the best," said a third.
"You can't explain it. It's a Nathan's hot dog," said a fourth.
Nathan's Famous turns 100 years old this year, and the company will celebrate its iconic brand in the place where it all began: on Surf Avenue in Coney Island in 1916.
"This is at the heart of everyone who works for Nathan's. This location," said Wayne Norbitz, executive director of Nathan's Famous.
Norbitz has been leading the company's expansion since he came on board in 1975. Nathan's is now sold in all 50 states and in 10 other countries, but it was a small 20-foot hot dog stand set up by Polish immigrant Nathan Handwerker using his wife Ida's spices that started the phenomenon.
"He took the spice formula and he put it into his hot dog, and that has always been a signature for Nathan's for all of these years," Norbitz said.
Back then, the hot dog was 5 cents. Now it's more than $4.
The store expanded. So did the menu. Hot dogs and fries remain the most popular items, but NY1 found customers who had other favorites.
"I got the soup," said one customer.
"The most I like is the frog legs," said another.
Nathan's now has a second Coney Island location on the boardwalk, and there's lots of new signage marking its centennial with events planned for Memorial Day weekend.
After Nathan's Memorial Day Weekend festivities, it'll get ready for its July Fourth extravaganza. More than 30 thousand people flock to Coney Island for the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest, which is broadcast live on television.
"We think of this as the greatest PR stunt in our industry," Norbitz said.
This evolved, too, with contestants now dunking their hot dog in water for a quicker chomp.
Nathan's, born in Coney Island's heyday, withstood the decline of the '60s, '70s and '80s and says it's loving the area's resurgence.
"I've seen the bad times and the good times, and I could tell you, I really enjoy the good times," Norbitz said.
Last year, the company sold more than 500 million hot dogs.