Registration is open for a Nathan's Famous qualifier to be held at the New York, New York Hotel Casino in Las Vegas on July 4 that will award a spot in the next year's finals on July 4, 2027. The site was a mainstay on the qualifier circuit, but has not held an event since 2019.
Jimmy's Famous Heroes Sandwich Shop will hold a sandwich eating contest at the Sheepshead Bay Fest in Brooklyn on June 21 awarding $500 to the winner.
Dogs Out in Manasquan, NJ will hold a hot dog eating contest on July 4 with a purse of at least $3500.
ZBurgerEatingContest.com has not been updated with any information about a 2026 competition, so that event will almost certainly not be held this upcoming July 4 weekend. The location in the Tenleytown area of Washington, DC that traditionally held the contest closed recently.
Matt Stonie posted a Nathan's Famous hot dog practice session on his Instagram, so he might be returning to that contest for the first time since 2019.
Ben Huddleston reports that the men's Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest will be televised live on ABC starting at 12:30 pm Eastern as part of the network's "Disney Celebrates America" programming. With a 24 hour run-time, there is no excuse for not televising the women's contest earlier in the day.
State Fare in Catonsville, MD will hold a hot dog eating contest on July 4 awarding $500 to the winner.
Trump, Howard Lorber & the NY Knicks
One June 5, the official White House X account posted a picture of President Trump watching a New York Knicks game from courtside seats. His seatmate is believed to be Howard Lorber, his longtime friend and CEO of Nathan’s Famous. The picture was taken at a 2007 game against the Los Angeles Lakes and comes from a NY Magazine article which claims that Lorber was Trump’s most common companion at Knicks games. The game Trump attended on June 8 was the only game lost by the Knicks in a 4-1 NBA Championship Series win.
Max Stanford, Semora Kludy win Lake Compounce qualifier
Fox61 has an article about the qualifier
Results from today’s Nathan’s qualifier at Lake Compounce in Bristol, CT via MLE instagram
| 1st | 32 | Max Stanford | |
| 2nd | 24 | Jerome Burns | |
| 3rd | 15.5 | Josh “The Goat” Krady | |
| 4th | 14.5 | Joshua Norris | |
| 5th | 13 | Brandon “The Titanium Jaw” Macey | |
| 6th | 10 | Crazy Legs Conti |
| 1st | 15 | Semora Kludy | |
| 2nd | 8.5 | Lainey Eaton | |
| 3rd | 7 | Lauren Fraunfelter | |
| 4th | 5.5 | Madison Barone | |
| 5th | 4.5 | Lily Krigelski | |
| 6th | 3.25 | Julie Goldberg |
Roma Pizza in Brooklyn will hold a rotisserie chicken eating contest on June 21 awarding $500 to the winner.
Joey Chestnut was interviewed by the Stacking Pennies podcast when he was in Charlotte for the NASCAR races Memorial Day weekend. They do not ask him about his recent arrest for battery and probation.
Flashback: Nathan’s City Hall weigh-ins
Tonight’s weigh in at the Lincoln Memorial for Sunday’s UFC card at the White House is not the first time a weigh-in for a competition has been held at a major public building. Weigh ins for Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest were held at NYC City Hall until 2014 and the Brooklyn Borough Hall from 2015-17. The mayor often attended the weigh-in; Michael Bloomberg attended the weigh-in 11 of the 12 years he was in office and Rudy Guiliani was present at least three years. The hot dog documentary “Footlong” has footage (starts at 6:23) of the 1998 weigh-in attended by Rudy Guiliani and Curtis Sliwa, who ran for mayor in 2021 and 2025.
Max Stanford plans to compete in tomorrow's Nathan's Famous qualifier at Lake Compounce in Bristol, CT. He plans to livestream the competition.
Nathan’s Famous / Smithfield Foods closing postponed
The takeover of Nathan’s Famous by its meatpacker and distributor, Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods, was announced in January and expected to be completed in the first half of 2026. Various issues have postponed the closing to the second half of the year.
Completion of the transaction remains contingent upon meeting several conditions specified in the Merger Agreement. These include securing approval from the holders of a majority of Nathan’s outstanding stock, obtaining clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), and fulfilling other closing requirements. However, given the impact of the partial government shutdown on statutory deadlines for CFIUS’s review process, our anticipated closing timeline has shifted, and we now expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2026.
update Jun 13 The Trump Administration has criticized foreign control of the American meat industry, but they have not expressed any criticism of the Nathan’s Famous / Smithfield Foods merger. One reason for the lack of opposition to the deal might be the longtime friendship between Trump and Nathan’s Famous CEO Howard Lorber, who has hosted fundraisers for the president.
Today marks the two year anniversary of Netflix' announcement of "Chestnut vs. Kobyashi: Unfinished Beef". The day before, Joey was expelled from Major League Eating for his Impossible Foods deal. Netflix has announced no plans to broadcast another eating competition.
The Corner Spot in Ocean Beach, NY will hold a hot dog eating contest on July 4 awarding $500 to the winner.
Stewart's in Tuckerton, NJ will hold a hot dog eating contest on July 4 awarding $1000/$350/$150 to the top three finishers.
Dexerto has a post about Burger King Japan's offer enabling customers to eat as many one pound burgers as they can finish over a 45 minute session for approximately $30. The top eaters will compete in a finals contest in Tokyo.
Jeff's Donuts will hold a donut hole eating contest in Louisville on July 4 awarding $1,000 to the winner.
Dat Dog in New Orleans will hold a hot dog eating contest on July 4 awarding $500 to the winner.
Raina Huang and Naader Reda are attempting the Big Texan 72 ounce steak in Barstow, CA tonight. Raina hopes to finish it in 20 minutes. update Raina finished in 14:13 to set the women's record excluding Molly Schuyler. updare Daily Press has an article. Naader's time was 39 minutes.
La Fiorentina in Springfield, MA will hold a cannoli eating contest on July 11 awarding $1,000 to the winner.
Season 2 of "Everything on the Menu with Braun Strowman" will debut tonight on the USA Network at 11pm Eastern. WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry will accompany Braun in the episode. update June 10 The full episode can be viewed on youtube.
2026 Salvation Army donuts
Full results are on Instagram
| 1st | 63 | James Webb | |
| 2nd | 56 | Max Stanford | |
| 3rd | 50 | Cameron Meade | |
| 4th | 43 | Radim Dvoracek | |
| 5th | 35 | Derek Hendrickson | |
| 6th | 31 | Jerome Burns | |
| 7th | 21 | Steven Farlow | |
| 8th | 16.5 | Crazy Legs Conti | |
| 9th | 16 | George Chiger | |
| 10th | 12 | Cherish “Five Pounds” Brown | |
| 10th | 12 | Larell Marie “The Real Deal” Mele | |
| 12th | 7 | Rene Rovtar |
WUSA9 is doing a livestream of today’s Salvation Army National Donut Day Donut Eating Championship in Washington, DC. James Webb is also doing a livestream.
Nathan’s men’s contest on ESPN2, women’s on streaming
The July 4 schedule for ESPN is now available. The main channel will observe America250 by broadcasting British tennis while the men’s Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest is relegated to ESPN2 and the women’s division is streaming-only. The men’s contest will be rerun on ESPN2 at 4pm Eastern and the documentary “The Good, the Bat, The Hungry” will be shown at 5pm.
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