Iconic Coney Island hot dog hawker Nathan’s Famous is sold for US$450 million

Joey Chestnut, winner of the 2021 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest, poses for photos in Coney Island's Maimonides Park, July 4, 2021, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)

Nathan’s Famous, which opened as a 5-cent hot dog stand in Coney Island more than a century ago, has been sold to packaged meat giant Smithfield Foods in an all-cash US$450 million deal, the companies announced Wednesday.

Smithfield, which has held rights to produce and sell Nathan’s products in the U.S. and Canada and at Sam’s Clubs in Mexico since 2014, will acquire all of Nathan’s outstanding shares for $102 each.

Like almost every food company, Nathan’s has been under significant inflationary pressure. Nathan’s sales costs of branded products rose 27 per cent compared with last year in its most recent quarter, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. There was a 20 per cent increase in the average cost per pound of hot dogs, it said.

Nathan Handwerker opened the first Nathan’s hot dog stand on Coney Island in 1916 with a $300 loan, according to the company. After opening a handful of other locations around New York over the years, the Handwerker family sold the Nathan’s Famous business to investors in 1987. The franchise has continued to expand.

Nathan’s has an outsized cultural presence in the U.S. both because of its history and the famous, or infamous, hot dog-eating contest held at its flagship Coney Island shop, where contestants from around the world gather every July 4 to see who can down the most hot dogs in 10 minutes.

The restaurant sits on same lot where Handwerker opened his first hot dog stand.

American Joey Chestnut is the reigning Nathan’s hot dog-eating champion after eating 70.5 hot dogs and buns last year. Chestnut has won 17 of the last 19 events, setting a record in 2021 after wolfing down 76 hot dogs and buns.

While the first recorded hot dog-eating contest was held in 1972, Nathan’s says informal contests began the year the stand opened early in the 20th century. It says the 2025 contest was its 103rd.

Smithfield said Wednesday that the event, which has been televised on ESPN with a crowd estimated at 30,000 at Coney Island each year, will continue.

Smithfield said it expects to achieve annual savings of about $9 million within two years of closing the deal.

“As a long-time partner, Smithfield has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to investing in and growing our brand while maintaining the utmost quality and customer service standards,” said Nathan’s CEO Eric Gatoff.

Nathan’s board of directors, which own or control nearly 30% of the outstanding shares of Nathan’s Famous common stock, approved the buyout and agreed to recommend to its shareholders to vote in favor of the deal.

Smithfield, which also owns the Gwaltney bacon and Armour frozen meat brands, rang up more than a billion dollars in operating profit in 2024 on sales of $14.1 billion.

Smithfield shares were unchanged in midday trading Wednesday at $23.39.

In fiscal 2025, Nathan’s reported profit of $24 million on revenue approaching $150 million. It’s acquisition is expected to close in the first half of this year.

Matt Ott, The Associated Press