Letter from the Editor

By Marcy Nathan, Creative Director

When I first started working for Rouses Markets, I told Tim Acosta, our advertising and marketing director (and anyone else who would listen), that my family owned Nathan’s.

There I was, Mira Sorvino (and Lisa Kudrow), lying about inventing Post-It Notes in 1997’s Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion.

But in my case, I got away with it. I stuck with the lie, July 4 th after July 4 th , even going so far as to have a Nathan’s Famous hot dog stand at a birthday party. I got an old Lucky Dog cart that been repainted and repurposed; the vendor wore a crisp paper Nathan’s hat and a Nathan’s apron, which the company graciously sent me after I reached out. There were boozy snowballs at the party, too, which is something I highly recommend.

My grandfather — not my greatgrandfather — really did own Nathan’s. But it wasn’t Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs; it was Nathan’s men’s clothing, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Family-owned retail stores started by Jews who settled in the South were very popular in small towns. My great Uncle Sol owned Nathan’s, a women’s clothing store, in Jackson, Tennessee, which is near Memphis, and Nathan’s general store in Cotton Plant, which is the 261st largest city in Arkansas. Uncle Sol kept a taxidermy collection at the Cotton Plant store. When my Aunt Mildred’s dog died, Sol had the dog stuffed and mounted and displayed in the store. Really.

The real Nathan’s Famous founder’s first name — Nathan — is my last name. Nathan Handwerker, a Polish-Jewish immigrant, came to the United States from Poland when he was 19. He opened his first nickel hot dog stand on Coney Island in 1916, and quickly became a boardwalk legend.

Today there are Nathan’s Famous hot dogs, condiments, pickles and chips — even a line of restaurants. Nathan’s hot dogs are primarily manufactured by Smithfield, which also makes high-quality pork products. They make it using the same original recipe cooked up by Handwerker himself over 100 years ago.

Hot dogs are the first thing most of us put on the grill at a cookout. They are as American as baseball and apple pie. Nathan’s Famous is even the official hot dog of Major League Baseball — not to even mention that it’s the most famous hot dog in the world. (Okay, so I mentioned it. I can’t help it; I’m proud of my would-be forebears.)

And then there is the July 4th Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, which is broadcast live on ESPN. Two million viewers tune in to see competitive eaters like Joey Chestnut compete for the famed Mustard Belt. Chestnut broke his own world record in 2021, eating 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, to win his sixth straight title. It was his 14th win overall.

We put on the Rouses Markets World Crawfish Eating Championship for years, and I hope we bring it back soon. Our emcee, Richard Shea, is the co-founder and president of Major League Eating, the governing body behind the annual hot dog eating contest, along with his brother, George. George is the contest’s longtime master of ceremonies.

Before the first round of the crawfish contest, Richard would bring me on stage and introduce me to the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen…the Queen of Nathan’s Hot Dogs herself, Marcy Nathan.” I just smiled and gave the crowd my royal wave, knowing no one was the wiser.