Feltman’s — Inventor Of The Hot Dog — May Return To Coney Island

Call it a case of the student outshining the teacher.

While Nathan’s Famous hot dogs have become synonymous with Coney Island, it wasn’t invented by the restaurant’s namesake. Instead, the hot dog is believed to have been invented by a German man named Charles Feltman, who started peddling his sausages around the amusement district by pushcart in 1867.

Eventually the Feltman’s brand expanded into an extravagant restaurant, Feltman’s German Gardens, which opened at Coney Island in 1871, earning quite a reputation for its time. In 1915, Feltman’s hugely popular restaurant employed a young man named Nathan Handwerker. A year later, Handwerker branched out on his own, opening Nathan’s Famous – and kicked off a hot dog war by purposely undercutting Feltman’s outrageously pricey 10 cent hot dog by 5 cents.

Now Coney Island historian and blogger Michael Quinn wants to pay homage to the original hot dog king. His new business venture, Feltman’s of Coney Island, will be participating in pop-up food events throughout the city until he is ready to open a permanent location on Surf Avenue.

“Being a history buff, I knew the history of the hot dog and the history between Nathan’s and Feltman’s,” says Quinn. “With so much interest in the area, it just seemed like the right time – with a nod to the history of Coney Island.”

Feltman’s of Coney Island will debut their pop-up shop at the Sycamore Bar, located at 1115 Cortelyou Road in Ditmas Park, on Thursday May 28, at 6pm, where Quinn is selling all-natural, nitrate-free hot dogs on potato buns, as well as pork sausages.

Quinn is currently shopping around for storefronts on Surf Avenue where he plans to sell his dogs for $2 against Nathan’s $4.15 version – a bit of cosmic justice on the bustling Coney Island corridor.

Quinn believes there is room for two hot dog giants on Surf Avenue, even if that stretch is becoming dominated by franchises.

“Nathan’s and Feltman’s coexisted for nearly 40 years,” says Quinn. “It seems as if Surf Avenue is where all the franchises are going, and all the mom and pops are on the boardwalk, so I think they can definitely coexist. There is definitely room for something new.”

Plus, he adds, “If I sell 10 percent of what Nathan’s sells, I’ll be very wealthy.”

Let the hot dog wars begin!