PUTRAJAYA, Dec 12 — Today, the first Nathan's Famous in Asia opens for business at IOI City Mall bringing a taste of their iconic Coney Island hot dog to our shores.
The brand traces its origins back to 1916 when Nathan Handwerker and his wife Ida Greenwald sold hot dogs for a nickel. The hot dogs are made using a secret spice recipe handed down to Ida by her grandmother. The same recipe is still used today to make their world famous hot dogs.
Now, Malaysians get the chance to sample the famous hot dog for themselves. The world got to know about Nathan's Famous hot dogs when Japanese Takeru Kobayashi smashed the world record for eating hot dogs at their annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contest.
Arguably, this is the only hot dog eating contest that gets worldwide press coverage. After winning the contest for six years running, Kobyashi finally lost the title to American Joey Chestnut in 2007 and Chestnut has held it since.
This year, Chestnut ate 61 hot dogs including buns in 10 minutes for his eighth consecutive win. His personal best and world record is 69!
Nathan's Famous hot dogs also have the distinction of being served to nine American presidents. Even British royalty, King George and Queen Elizabeth who visited America in 1939, got a taste of the hot dogs courtesy of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Legends like notorious gangster Al Capone, Hollywood actor Cary Grant and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani were also big fans.
In America, Nathan's Famous Inc. is listed on the Nasdaq. Nathan's Famous used to own Kenny Rogers Roasters which they divested to Berjaya Corporation Berhad. Subsequently, the roast chicken restaurants were spinned off to Berjaya Food Berhad which has expanded the chain around Asia.
In 2007, they sold Miami Subs Grill, a Florida based chain of fast casual restaurants that sells chicken wings, submarine sandwiches and Greek inspired gyros meats. In 2012, Armando Cristian Perez or Pitbull took up an equity stake in Miami Subs Grill.
Recently Miami Subs Grill has also announced the opening of their first outlet in Malaysia to be located at Sunway Pyramid via their local Facebook page. The fast-casual restaurant claims to be opening by this December. This restaurant will be their first foray into Asia.
On the local website for Nathan's Famous, the menu features their signature beef frankfurters, crinkle cut French fries with all kinds of toppings, and their refreshing lemonade made from freshly squeezed lemons. It's an extensive menu with Philly cheesesteaks, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, Alaskan Pollock fish fillet sandwiches, onion rings and deep-fried apple pie.
Plans are also underway to open the second outlet at KLIA2, which is scheduled for February 2015. The company has also targeted Singapore as the next country it will move into as part of its Asia expansion plans. Besides the United States of America, you can also find Nathan's Famous in Kuwait, Russia, Dominican Republic, Turkey and even Afghanistan.
Nathan's Famous, L1-13B, First Floor, IOI City Mall, Lebuh IRC, IOI Resort City, Putrajaya. For further details, check their website.
