Nathan's

At 1310 Surf Avenue in Coney Island, Brooklyn stands one of New York's most well known institutions. This is the original home of Nathan's Famous, started by Nathan Handwerker and probably the most famous fast food emporium in NYC. Their history is quite interesting and rather than distill it here, I recommend you check this short article. They originally sold through fast food establishments but are now doing major acquisitions, corporate expansions, merchandise branding etc. For better or worse, this is the pattern of virtually every company with a history in the U.S. Apart from their classic hot dog, they also sell lemonade, seafood, fries etc. And they sponsor a traditional yearly hot dog eating contest every July 4th.