Here’s where they do the World Famous Hot Dog eating contest. Nathan’s began as a nickel hot dog stand in Coney Island in 1916 and bears the name of founder Nathan Handwerker. A second branch on Long Beach Road in Oceanside, New York, opened in 1955, and another debuted in Yonkers in 1965. All were sold by the Handwerker family in 1987, at which point Nathan’s was franchised and a great number of establishments were opened around New York City and beyond. The company went public in 1993, and Bill Handwerker, the founder’s grandson, left the company three years later.