Handwerker, Nathan (1891–1974)

Polish-born US food merchant. He opened a sidewalk stand on Coney Island in 1916, selling his hot dogs for a nickel. His stand grew and in 1925 he incorporated as Nathan's Famous. Further expansion occured in 1957 when his son Murray Handwerker (1921–) persuaded him to open a second store in Ocean Side, Long Island; soon thereafter they began franchising. Nathan's Famous went public in 1967 and began selling products to supermarkets in the early 1970s. Handwerker was born in Poland, and emigrated to New York in 1912, where he worked as a roll slicer for Charles Feltman (who is sometimes credited as the ‘inventor’ of the hot dog in America).