Famous Nathan (35 page)

But there are voices crying in the wilderness. Complaints and laments on Internet message boards and online reviews: “In my day…”; “It used to be…”; “I remember…”

Maybe no one at the current-day Nathan's Famous notices. Or perhaps it is worth a few points of profit to the corporate owners—and the shareholders they are beholden to—that the workers do not heat the oil sufficiently or that they lessen the cooking time. Maybe it cuts a few pennies from the store's electric bill.

More likely, the expertise and attention to detail aren't there. Nathan-style vigilance is similar to the lost art of the medieval stone mason or the Italian Renaissance plasterer.
Shokunin kishitsu
? Spirit of the craft? What the hell is that?

Wandering among the weary thousands who showed up for the hot dog contest and are now trailing home, I run into a Coney Island old-timer, Joe Sciammetta, who worked the carnival rides and boardwalk during the sixties.

“I worked on the Tornado back in those days. I remember going to Nathan's there, the hot dog might've been, around thirty-five or fifty cents at that time?”

He gets more and more excited with each word.

“So I go to Sammy, I go, give me five hot dogs. The guy was quick. Before you know it you had five on the plate, the little cardboard plate, right? Mustard, everything on it, boom, he had the big tongs. You were in, you were out.”

He shakes his head. “Now you go into Nathan's, I'm not gonna lie to you, it's not the same service. The quality of the hot dog ain't the same. I think it was a different grade hot dog. Something about that old grill, maybe, gave it the taste. The toasted bun, which they don't do anymore. That made it delicious.”

He gestures toward the busy store on Surf Avenue.

“I can't even go there anymore. Even if there's two people ahead of me, it's like having twenty people ahead of me 'cause it takes forever. It's so frustrating. It's Nathan's, but it's not Nathan's.”

“Okay, Joe,” I say. “So where do you go these days for a hot dog? Where can you still get a good, old-fashioned frankfurter?”

“Oh, I can't go now, but I'll tell you how to get there.”

He suggests a nearby Russian delicatessen. When I track down the place, sure enough, long linked strings of fat, beautiful frankfurters rest in a glass-fronted display case. The store has some of the franks cooking on an aluminum foil–covered grill.

I indicate the franks to the shop lady.

“Can I get one of those?”

“What do you want on it?” she asks.

“Just mustard, nothing else.”

She prepares the hot dog and serves me. I've fallen into a sort of time travel daze and don't dare ask for an order of crinkle-cut fries, with the crispy bits still in the bottom of the cellophane bag.

“How much?”

“A nickel,” she says.

I'm kidding. She doesn't say that. But the price is less than a Nathan's Famous dog today.

The smell of the frank is intoxicating. I don't want to break the spell, but finally I bite down.

Snap!

 

Acknowledgments

Three people deserve my very special thanks, and they all could not be more loved. To my dad, my role model, for his integrity, quiet strength, and rebellious spirit. To my mom, an extraordinary caregiver: I love you. And I love you, Leslie. You made this all possible. Thank you for your intelligence, creativity, and passion.

An especially huge thank-you to Hy Brown, still sharp as a tack at ninety-two. I can't thank him enough for his generosity and knowledge of all things Nathan's. Thanks to Jay Cohen, my grandfather's “stepson,” for so much heartfelt insight into Nathan and Nathan's Famous; Jimmy Bologna, a survivor to the core and a treasure; Felix Vasquez, for his tremendous humanity and spunk; Richard Traunstein, who was equal parts hilarious and thoughtful; Sidney Handwerker, a smart, lovely man; Al Shalik, for his fantastic stories told in his inimitable style. Thanks to Joe Handwerker, who gave fifty years to Nathan's, you are deeply appreciated; to Murray and Dorothy Handwerker, for their great hospitality, time spent with me, and for their deep devotion to the business; and Steve Handwerker, for his many important insights into our grandparents and the business.

Thanks also to my sisters Nora and Lisa Handwerker; to Noah Delgado De Torres, Ilana Aide Handwerker, and Miguel Delgado De Torres; to Jacob and Rose Handwerker, Anna Singer, Sidney and Lorraine Handwerker, Lena and Hyman Schuchman, Jack and Leah Dreitzer, Max and Claire Kamiel, Bill Handwerker, Ken Handwerker, Leah Sternshein, Lou Sternshein, David Sternshein, Alan Sternshein, Fran Basch, Russell and Ivan Basch, Hannah Sternshein, and to the entire extended Handwerker family; to my grandparents Chaim and Dora Geller and the entire Geller family; the entire Siegel family; and Jared DeFrancesco.

My gratitude also goes out to the great folks at Flatiron Books, including Colin Dickerman, James Melia, and Whitney Frick for the care and attention they brought to this project; to Gil Reavill, who conducted historical research and took hundreds of hours of interviews, then helped to weave them into stories and those stories into a book. To Paul Bresnick, my literary agent, who in very Nathan-like fashion made this whole book possible.

Thanks to the unbelievably generous workers: Maria Argano, Hyman Silverglad, Eddie Fuerst, Bob Levine, Johnny Poa, Izzy Rodriguez, Sol Seiderman, Sol Gaber, Frank Soto, Thomas Settle, Sinta Low, Leonard Markowitz, Marvin Lubeck, Paul Berlly, Jose Santiago, Sammy Fariello, Morty Matz, Max Rosey, Al Harris, Marsha and Marty Abramson.

On my documentary, for this book, and in other aspects, I am grateful for the participation of Madeleine Molyneaux, Russell Green, Heather Greene, Hanna Buck, Charlotte Farrel, Alex Bayer, Mandy Kordal, Angelo Corrao, Sean R. Smith, Dylan Puchala, Jeremiah Hawkins, Jeremiah Zagar, Frankie Marin, Sheri Manson, Rick Schnupp. To my good friends and the people of Coney Island: David Hellman, Hiroko Takeda, Margaret Cohen, Richard Cohen, Pegi Vail, Melvin Estrella, Terry Savage, Frank and Caroline Morris, Ergo Phizmiz, Paul Eli, Lenora Todaro, Josh Simons, Sonny Aronson, Amy Nicholson, Phil Buehler, Michael Schwartz, Caroline McCrory, Don Purple, Bea Sager, Harold Feinstein, Hal Ginsburg, Mike Zwerling, Pac Lab, Du Art, Maurice Schecter, Susan Hermuth, Nancy Arner, Jon and Christina Tucker, Stan Fox, Zoe Beloff, Jay Singer, Matt Harvey, Matt Kennedy, Dewey Albert, Paul Georgoulakos, Gregory Bitetzakis, Johnny “Blackie” Casillo, Morris and Doris Sunshine, Larry Moyer, Nat Dubler, Larry Rocco, Joe Sciammetta, Jim McDonnell, Richard Egan, Charlie Denson, Dick Zigun, Rob Leddy, Tricia Vita, Michael Quinn, Roseanne Giordano-Semler, Al Lasher, Abe Feinstein, Stewart Kampel, Jimmy Prince, John Dorman of Phillips Candy, Mirela Iverac, Pat Auletta and family, Sylvia and David Barsion, Tom Volpe; thanks to all of the festival and theater programmers who supported my film; thanks to South Carolina University, Yad Vashem, New York Public Library Archives, the Mangels family, the Williams family, Tom's of Coney Island, the Vouderis family of Wonderwheel, and George Shea.

 

Author's Note

When I was ten years old, I asked my parents for a tape recorder so I could record my grandfather's stories. I had always loved listening to him speak about his childhood and his restaurant, Nathan's Famous of Coney Island. One day while my grandparents were visiting, I started recording my grandpa. He sat next to me on the edge of my bed. Fifteen minutes into the interview, my grandma Ida knocked on the door, calling him to eat. We never finished our talk.

Luckily, my cousin David Sternschein also interviewed our grandfather, and the recorded words of Nathan Handwerker represent an important historical document about a fascinating real-life figure. I was also lucky to be able to reach out to so many people who offered their recollections of Nathan Handwerker. They were his sons, grandsons, in-laws, other relatives, employees, patrons, as well as a few public figures. I would like to extend my gratitude once again to all those who cooperated in helping me chronicle my grandfather's life.

Interviews

Marsha Abramson (public relations for Nathan's Famous), Dewey Albert (founder of Astroland amusement park in Coney Island), Maria Argano (worker at Nathan's Famous), Pat Auletta (Coney Island businessman and longtime patron of Nathan's Famous), Paul Berlly (sales manager for Hygrade Provisions), James Bologna (longtime worker at Nathan's Famous), Hy Brown (former general manager of Nathan's Famous), Jay Cohen (former general manager of Nathan's Famous), John Doorman (formerly of Philip's Candy in Coney Island), Jack and Leah Dreitzer (longtime former worker at Nathan's Famous and his wife, sister of Ida Handwerker), Richard Eagan (cofounder of Coney Island Hysterical Society), Maxine Eimicke (wife of Victor Eimicke, consultant at Nathan's Famous), Aaron Eliach (accountant at Nathan's Famous), Stan Fox (Coney Island worker and longtime patron of Nathan's Famous), Ed Fuerst (former worker at Coney Island Nathan's Famous), Sol Gabor (former worker at Nathan's Famous), Luis Gargulio (longtime patron of Nathan's Famous), Hal Ginsberg (former worker at Nathan's Famous), Marty Greenfield, Dorothy “Dottie” Handwerker (wife of Murray Handwerker), Ida Handwerker (Nathan's wife and my grandmother), Joe Handwerker (Nathan Handwerker's nephew and right-hand man, former vice president of Nathan's Famous), Minnie Handwerker (my mother), Murray Handwerker (Nathan Handwerker's son and my uncle), Nathan Handwerker (my grandfather, founder and owner of Nathan's Famous), Phillip Handwerker (Nathan Handwerker's brother), Sam Handwerker (Joe Handwerker's son and a longtime former worker at Nathan's Famous), Sol Handwerker (Nathan Handwerker's son and my father), Steve Handwerker (Nathan Handwerker's grandson, Murray's son, and my cousin), Sidney Handwerker (Nathan Handwerker's nephew and former worker and manager at Nathan's Famous), Officer Jerod (policeman on the beat in Coney Island), Max and Claire Kamiel (good friends of Nathan and Ida Handwerker), Stewart Kampel (longtime patron of Nathan's Famous), Kenny Knudsen (longtime patron of Nathan's Famous), Ed Koch (former NYC mayor), Gary Lapow (longtime patron of Nathan's Famous), Albert Lasher (public relations for Nathan's Famous), Bob Levine (worked at Oceanside Nathan's Famous), Herman Levinson (longtime patron of Nathan's Famous), Sol Litchman (longtime worker at Nathan's Famous), Bill Livert (worked with Murray at Nathan's Famous Oceanside/Roadside Rest), Marvin Lubeck (former worker at Nathan's Famous), John Manbeck (Brooklyn historian), Morty Matz (public relations), Larry Moyers (longtime patron of Nathan's Famous), Wayne Norbitz (present COO of Nathan's Famous), Johnny Poa (former worker at Nathan's Famous), Lou Posner (longtime patron of Nathan's Famous), Jimmy Prince (owner of Major's Meat Market on Coney Island), Izzy Rodriguez (longtime worker at Nathan's Famous), Charles Schneck (former head of personnel at Nathan's Famous), Hyman and Lena Schuchman (brother-in-law and sister of Nathan Handwerker and co-owners of the Atlantis in Coney Island), Joe Sciammetta (former worker at Coney Island), Al Shalik (manager at Nathan's Famous and general manager at Snacktime), George Shea (public relations and host of Nathan's Famous hot dog contest), Sol Sidelman (former worker at Nathan's Famous), Hyman Silverglad (former worker at Nathan's Famous), Anna Singer (Nathan Handwerker's sister and Coney Island custard stand operator), Frank Soto (former general manager of Nathan's Famous), Doris and Morris Sunshine (longtime patrons of Nathan's Famous), Joel Thames (longtime patron of Nathan's Famous), Richard Traunstein (former worker in the dining room at Nathan's Famous), Felix Vasquez (former worker in dining room at Nathan's Famous), and Dick Zigun (founder of Coney Island USA).

 

Notes

Chapter 1: Narol

“the poorest province in Europe”: God's Playground: A History of Poland: Volume II: 1795 to the Present
, by Norman Davies, Oxford University Press (2005), pp. 106–108.

“kaptsonim”
:
The Golden Age Shtetl: A New History of Jewish Life in East Europe
, by Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern, Princeton University Press (2014), p. 9.

“The shadow of the Holocaust”:
Shtetl: The Life and Death of a Small Town and the World of Polish Jews
, by Eva Hoffman, Houghton Mifflin (1997), p. 7.

Chapter 2: To America

SS Neckar,
one of four:
“S/S Neckar (2), Norddeutscher Lloyd,”
Norway-Heritage: Hands Across the Sea
,
http://bit.ly/1NEdlZX
.

Chapter 3: Luncheonette Man

Overall, only a small number:
The Statue of Liberty
, by Anne Hempstead, Heinemann Publishers (2006), p. 20. See also
History.com
, “Nine Things You Didn't Know About Ellis Island,”
http://bit.ly/1R63aea
.

“the Plymouth Rock of its day”:
American Civil Religion: What Americans Hold Sacred
, by Peter Gardella, Oxford University Press (2013), p. 210.

Ellis Island was where the term:
The New Joys of Yiddish: Completely Updated
, by Leo Rosten, edited by Lawrence Bush, Crown (2001), p. 177.

40 percent of the people:
Ancestry Magazine
, Vol. 18, No. 3 (May-Jun 2000), p. 43.

a metropolis of five million:
Summary of Vital Statistics, The City of New York: Population and Mortality
, Statistical Analysis and Reporting and Quality Improvement Units of the Bureau of Vital Statistics, NYC Health (2010), p. 4.

And three quarters of the workers:
Encyclopaedia Judaica
, Cecil Roth, ed., Macmillan Books (1972), “USA” vol. 15, pp. 1617–1618. Also see
Virtual Jewish Library
,
http://bit.ly/1GFGHz4
.