In the summer of 1916, the average New Yorker paid a dime for a Coney Island hot dog.
Enter Nathan Handwerker, a man hungry for success.
The Polish immigrant, just four years after reaching New York at age 20, envisioned a future selling his own frankfurters just one block off the Boardwalk.
His business plan, as it turned out, was quite simple: Peddle the hot dogs for a nickel in the first-ever fast food price war.
One century down the road, there’s no doubt about the winner
The inimitable hot dog stand opened by Handwerker at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Aves. in Brooklyn celebrates its centennial this year.
Nathan’s, named for its founder, grew across the decades into an iconic global brand. And its frankfurters — still defined by the snap of the crunchy casings and the bite of the signature spices — remain the top dog…
Read on from the Source: Nathan’s century of Coney Island hot dog history as a N.Y. icon