Nathan’s Famous, Host of July 4 Hot Dog Eating Contest, Sold to Chinese Company
Posted on: January 22, 2026, 08:42h.
Last updated on: January 22, 2026, 10:10h.
- Nathan’s Famous has been sold to a Chinese-owned company based in Virginia
- Nathan’s hosts the annual July 4th hot dog eating contest on Coney Island
Nathan’s Famous, the iconic hot dog purveyor that puts on the July 4th eating contest in Coney Island — an event that’s become legal to bet on in the wake of sports betting going mainstream — has been sold.
Smithfield Foods, a pork producer and food processing company based in Virginia but owned by a Chinese firm, is paying $450 million in an all-cash deal to acquire the outstanding shares of Nathan’s. Smithfield will pay $102 for each share, a 10% premium on the shares’ Tuesday close.
Since 2014, Smithfield has possessed the exclusive rights to produce and sell Nathan’s products in the US and Canada, and at Sam’s Clubs in Mexico. The $450 million deal gives the company complete control of the Nathan’s Famous brand and organization.
The sale comes months after a local community board defeated a multibillion-dollar casino resort proposed for Coney Island.
Nathan’s is synonymous with Coney Island and competitive eating for its annual Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest. In recent years, legal sportsbooks have gained permission from their regulatory authorities to offer odds on the 10-minute hot dog-eating chowdown.
Competitive Eating Becomes a Sport
After sports betting expanded across the country following the landmark 2018 US Supreme Court decision, sportsbooks petitioned state gaming regulators for approval to take bets on the Nathan’s July 4th hot dog-eating contest. Gaming officials weren’t immediately sold, with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) denying several sportsbook requests in 2019.
Things changed during the pandemic, as bettors took their action to outlying sports that were ongoing, like Belarusian soccer and Ukrainian ping pong. Sentiments against allowing offbeat sports, such as competitive eating, to be included in regulated sportsbooks eased among gaming regulators.
In 2020, sportsbooks in New Jersey, Colorado, and New Hampshire were given the green light to take action on the Nathan’s contest. In the years since, many other states have joined in on the event that’s regulated by Major League Eating.
Coney Island Icon
With a $300 loan, Nathan Handwerker, a Jewish-Polish immigrant, opened his hot dog stand on Coney Island in 1916. His five-cent dogs became immensely popular.
The expansion of the company was led by Handwerker’s son, Murray. He opened Nathan’s locations in Oceanside, Yonkers, and elsewhere throughout downstate New York. The Handwekers sold the company to private investors in 1987, who franchised the restaurant.
In 2023, the editors of Bon Appétit ranked Nathan’s Famous as their favorite hot dog in a blind taste test that included Ball Park, Sabrett, Applegate, Hebrew National, Oscar Meyer, and Trader Joe’s.
Nathan’s hot dogs got high marks from every taster, and they were quickly deemed our favorite. Their intense, beefy flavor and lovely sparks of garlic made this brand stand out from the competition,” the Bon Appétit review read.
“The dish full of Nathan’s hot dogs was the only one left empty at the end of our taste test, after our tasters went back for seconds and thirds,” the review explained.
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