Coney Island getting an old-fashioned hot dog price war

feltman's coney island — When we say o.g., we mean “before photography was commonplace” o.g. via Facebook

If you didn’t know, Coney Island hot dogs have a long history, going way back, possibly even to before the time when your great-grandparents were getting their names Americanized at Ellis Island. Nowadays, the Coney Island hot dog scene is being dominated by Nathan’s, but their seemingly unshakeable grip is being challenged any day now by an old competitor from the past. Yes, Coney Island is seeing a good old fashioned hot dog war soon, because, per The Coney Island Blog, o.g. hot dog maker Feltman’s Coney Island Hot Dogs is coming back to town and offering their hot dogs for half the price of a Nathan’s dog.

You might be wondering who this Feltman is and why they’re messing with your beloved Nathan’s. According to Feltman’s press release though, Nathan’s, classic as they are, isn’t even the original out in Coney. The original hot dog was created by man named Charles Feltman, whose claim on them is enough to have a Wikipedia page and be interred at Green-Wood. However, according to the press release, his pupil was none other than Nathan’s founder Nathan Handwerker. Handwerker broke off from Feltman’s to sell his own hot dogs and won the war by selling his hot dogs for five cents a pop as opposed to the ten-cent hot dogs at Feltman’s.

Now though, Feltman has their eye on a return. They’re starting by popping in to Sycamore‘s Flatbush Food Court on May 28, and will be popping up at other places around the city after that. They’ve also said they’re looking for property around Coney Island so that they can come back as a blast from the past and “karmically sell” their original dog for $2 as opposed to the current price of $4.15 for a Nathan’s dog. In the mean time, you can follow them on Twitter to find out where they’re going to be before they get a physical storefront. And hey, if you’re a Coney Island landlord, snap ’em up. What we need’s another war.