5 Cent Hot Dogs at Coney Island on May 28, 2016

Get hot dogs for just a nickel at Coney Island for one day only, May 28, 2016.

The deal celebrates the 100th anniversary of Nathan’s, selling the hot dogs for the same price as in 1920 when it opened for business, in the same location it’s been ever since.

The hot dog deal is 11am to 2pm only, limit two hot dogs per customer., along with a commemorative certificate. The 5 cents dogs are available only at the main Nathan’s on Surf Avenue, not at the famous boardwalk location.

And a few blocks away, Nathan’s arch competitor, Feltman’s, will be will be hosting a Feltman’s pop up selling their own dogs for ten cents from 2pm to 4pm.

Nathan’s, of course, is an important part of Coney Island history, which means Brooklyn history and NYC history.

And these days, Nathan’s may be more famous for its Fourth of July hot dog eating contest than for its part in local history.

Or its part in the ongoing dispute about who really made the hot dog popular.

Of course, wieners have always been an important part of German cuisine – including in the city of Frankfurt, my father’s hometown, which gave its name to the frankfurter, a flavorful cold-smoked weiner with a skin that snaps when you bite into it, that many locals eat with their fingers, dipped into spicy mustard.

• Full disclosure – I write portions of Fodor’s Germany guidebook, including the Frankfurt chapter.

See my article

Ultimate Things to Do in Germany,

including Frankfurt, on the Fodor’s website.

Nathan’s History

Nathan Handwerker originally got his start working for Feltman’s, who some wags (pun intended) considered the inventor of the hot dog. 

Charles Feltman, a German immigrant, claims to have invented the idea of putting the frankfurter into a bun, to eliminate the need for dishes or utensils, although Germans have been doing that for at least a century, maybe longer.  He called them “red hots”.

Nathan’s job was slicing buns open.

As the legend goes, Nathan was able to save money by eating the free meals provided by Feltman for his shift workers.  Once he saved up $300, he took his wife’s grandmother’s old country recipe and opened up his own hot dog shop, undercutting Feltman’s by selling his hot dogs for half the price of Feltman’s.

Which is why the May 28 deal is a nickel for a Nathan’s dog and a dime for Feltman’s.  Isn’t competition wonderful.

According to Grubstreet, Feltman’s is in the midst of a comeback,  including opening a location at Steeplechase Beer Garden.

These days, Feltman’s dogs are sold primarily in supermarkets and in restaurants and bars, including McSorley’s Old Ale House on the East Village.  But at one time, Feltman operated what was believed to be the largest restaurant in the United States, just down the block from arch rival Nathan’s.

Read more about their competitive history and the plans for Feltman’s brand the new owners – Brooklyn natives – have.  Read about it here in the Brooklyn Eagle.

EXPIRED, Sorry, this deal or event is no longer available.