In the melting pot of the United States we are fortunate that immigrants from many countries bring and adapt their native foods for us to enjoy. During these Summer months we should be grateful to a German immigrant, Charles Feltman, who was 15 years old when he arrived in New York in 1856. Eleven years later he began his own business, pushing a cart through the Coney Island sand dunes selling pies. His customers began to request sandwiches for beach consumption and Feltman thought of the Frankfurter of his native land. In an age before disposable tableware, Feltman decided to put his sausage on a bun to avoid the need for silverware and plates. He was soon boiling the sausages right on his cart and dispensing them on buns.  

Within four years, he was leasing space for his expanded restaurant complex. The restaurant served millions of ten-cent hot dogs a year but was better known for its shore dinner, a seafood plate including lobster, fish, and oysters.  

In its 1920s heyday his restaurant empire, Feltman’s German Gardens, served nearly 5,250,000 people a year, and included a restaurant complex with several restaurants, two bars, a beer garden, a famous carousel, a ballroom, an outdoor movie theater, a hotel, a bathhouse, a pavilion, a Tyrolean village and other attractions offering many types of food beyond hot dogs. 

One story of the origin of “hotdog” name is its shape, similar to a German dachshund. Reportedly, the inability of one sportswriter to spell resulted in the “hotdog” moniker. 

 

In 1916, Feltman’s employee Nathan Handwerker (a Polish immigrant) left to start his own business a few blocks away, selling Nathan’s Famous hotdogs for 5 cents less. Nathan’s stayed in the Handwerker family until 1987 when it was purchased by an investment group. Nathan’s franchises can be found in all 50 states and 17 countries. Mr. Feltman’s empire lasted through 1940. 

Whether you are grilling beef, chicken, veggie, tofu, or ‘meat’ hotdogs on July 19th, National Hotdog Day, raise a bun to two of the purveyors who made this immigrant food ‘All American’!