Nathan’s contest will go on in front of a live crowd
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
A red hot Fourth of July
crowd will return to Coney
Island this summer for the
annual Nathan’s Famous Hot
Dog Eating Contest — the
borough’s answer to the Super
Bowl and Kentucky Derby
combined.
The gastronomical gorgefest
took place last summer
without fans in attendance due
to the COVID-19 pandemic. But
with virus cases plummeting,
vaccines making the rounds
and the city reopening, the
organizers of the contest are
ready to let fans be part of the
frankfurter fun again.
But the beefy brouhaha,
traditionally held outside Nathan’s
fl agship eatery at the
corner of Stillwell and Surf
Avenues, will instead be held
this year a few blocks over at
Maimonides Park — the home
of the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Tickets are free and will be
COURIER L 44 IFE, JUNE 4-10, 2021
distributed on a fi rst-come,
fi rst-served basis — with all
attendees subject to federal,
state and city health and
safety protocols.
The change still limits the
contest’s attendance. In past
years, crowds of up to 30,000
would gather at Stillwell and
Surf Avenues for the sausage
showdown. Maimonides
Park’s seating capacity is
about 7,000.
Nevertheless, Nathan’s Famous
relishes the prospect of
returning the contest to its
original location in 2022.
“It is encouraging to hold
this event live for fans, who
last year were unable to celebrate
July 4 as they traditionally
do,” said James Walker,
senior vice president of restaurants
for Nathan’s Famous.
“Next year, we hope to return
to the corner of Surf and Stillwell
Avenues, where we have
held this event for decade after
decade.”
“The Nathan’s Famous contest
is the crown jewel of the
Fourth of July, and stands as a
beacon of freedom for all those
who believe in American exceptionalism,”
said promoter
George Shea of Major League
Eating (MLE).
The frankfurter festivities
get underway on July 4 at 10
am at Maimonides Park, with
the women’s hot dog eating
contest at 11 am, followed by
the men’s competition at 12:30
pm.
The reigning champion on
the men’s side, Joey Chestnut,
is scheduled to return to Coney
Island to defend his mustard
yellow belt this year. Last
year, Chestnut wharfed down
a world record 75 hot dogs and
buns in just 10 minutes to win
his fi fth-straight title.
“Joey Chestnut is a national
treasure,” Shea added.
“The rock on which he stands
is not a rock — it is the United
States of America.”
The women’s hot dog eating
contest this year will miss
last year’s champion, Miki
Sudo, who won’t be competing
in 2021, according to MLE. In
2020, Sudo ate a world record
48.5 hot dogs and buns in 10
minutes to win her seventhstraight
championship. The
distant second place fi nisher,
Larell Marie Mele, devoured
18 hot dogs and buns in the
same time.
You can request tickets for
the 2021 Nathan’s Hot Dog
Eating Contest by emailing
nathanshotdogeatingcontest2021@
nathansfamous.com,
or by visiting MajorLeagueEating.
com.
BY BEN VERDE
Ample Hills’ long-awaited
Prospect Park West location
will fi nally open its doors on
May 28, following years of anticipation
and delay.
The new shop on Bartel
Pritchard Square near 15th
Street, directly adjacent to the
Nitehawk Cinema and Prospect
Park, marks the chain’s
fi rst additional location since
coming under new ownership
last year.
“It’s almost like a fl agship
store for us,” said Ample Hills
CEO Mike Zapata. “We’re really
excited.”
Plans for the Brooklynfounded
Ice Cream brand to
occupy the historic low-rise
building that housed a soda
fountain during the 1930’s
have been in the works since
2018 but were put on hold due
to the company’s bankruptcy
DINING
sale and subsequent takeover
by Oregon-based manufacturer
Schmitt Industries during
the pandemic.
The new location features
booth seating, a party room,
a small library of children’s
books, and roof access for customers,
and fi lls a hole along
Prospect Park West in Windsor
Terrace, which has been lacking
a brick-and-mortar creamery.
“Couldn’t be a better location
for an Ice Cream shop,”
said Ample Hills Creative Director
Lauren Kaelin. “It’s
right next to the park, right
next to the movie theater, right
next to the subway.”
The parkside location also
marks the start of a partnership
between Ample Hills
and the Prospect Park Alliance,
the non-profi t stewards
of Brooklyn’s Backyard, something
of a full circle for the
brand which started out as an
ice cream cart at the Celebrate
Brooklyn! music festival.
As part of the partnership,
Prospect Park Alliance
members will get a 10 percent
discount at the store, and 10
percent of sales at the shop’s location
specifi c fl avor will go to
benefi t the alliance.
The fl avor — “Meet me on
the Long Meadow” — is an
ode to picnic staples, featuring
sweet tea fl avored ice cream
with pieces of lemonade-iced
cookies and black currant jam.
“It’s a little bit more subtle
than your typical over-the-top
Ample Hills fl avor,” said Kaelin.
“The black currant and the
lemonade fl avors are a little bit
more subtle but I think it’s delicious,
I’m interested to see how
people react to it.”
The shop’s decor also pays
tribute to Prospect Park. A
mural features Ample Hills
mascots enjoying scoops on
the Long Meadow, and framed
archival photos line the shop’s
walls, including one of the
dairy farm that once existed
in the historic greenspace.
“We were really inspired
by the history of picnicking in
Prospect Park,” Kaelin said.
Call back the dogs
Ample Hills opens long-awaited
Prospect Park West location
BROOKLYN
Scooped again
Ample Hills Creamery, (190
Prospect Park West at Bartel-
Pritchard Square in Windsor
Terrace) www.amplehills.com
Monday-Thursday 1 pm — 10
pm, Friday and Saturday 12 —
11 pm, Sunday 12 pm — 10
pm. Opening day May 28 at
6 pm.
Reigning Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest champion Joey Chestnut
weighed-in at 220 pounds on July 3, 2020 ahead of the 2020 competition.
File photo by Paul Frangipane
The newest Ample Hills location on Prospect Park West. Photo by Liz Clayman
/www.amplehills.com
link
link
/nathansfamous.com
/www.amplehills.com