A press release announces that Nathan's Famous is crossing over to offer chicken wings and Harlem-style chicken and waffles under a new brand, Wings of New York.
A press release announces an alliance between Nathan's Famous and Damhus, "a German manufacturer of quality meat-products since 1936", to manufacture and distribute hot dogs throughout Europe. It is interesting that a Jewish-founded company would partner with a firm started in Nazi Germany. The document makes no mention of a possible European qualifier for Nathan's hot dog eating contest.
1069 Restaurant Group, the largest franchise operator for the Golden Corral buffet restaurant chain, has filed for bankruptcy. Only 6 of its 33 locations are currently open.
The Jerusalem Post reports that Nathan's Famous will start producing halal hot dogs in partnership with a United Arab Emirates subsidiary of Mezzan Holding KSC for sale in the Persian Gulf region.
MoneyInc.com has an article titled "How Matt Stonie Achieved a Net Worth of $5 Million".
Katina Eats Kilos has started selling merchandise.
Ronnie "Megabyte" Hartman has started selling T-shirts at https://www.prowrestlingtees.com/megabyteronnie
Nathan's Famous is selling T-shirts for its hot dog eating contest.
Networth Buzz claims that Carmen Cincotti has a net worth of one million dollars.
Matt Stonie appeared on Mornings with Maria (Bartiromo) on Fox Business today to talk about his youtube channel and recent Donut Day video. Neither his recent signing with Night Media nor the 2020 Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest were discussed.
The New York Times has an article about Feltman's Hot Dogs which also covers the history of Coney Island frankfurters. The pandemic has reportedly resulted in a surge for hot dog purchases, with sales for Nathan's Famous increasing by over 50%.
Matt Stonie signs with Night Media
Business Insider reports that Matt Stonie has signed with Night Media for exclusive representation and will be managed by Nick Brotman. Other Night Media social media personalities are Mr. Beast and neekolul, famed for her “OK Boomer” video. Brotman intends to pivot his client away from YouTube:
“Matt has been someone I’ve had my eye on for a while as he’s been consistently doing crazy numbers for years,” Brotman told Business Insider. “After getting to know him it was a great match. He’s interested in branching out from just creating YouTube content, which aligns with our philosophy of creating larger businesses around our clients’ influence.”
We will see how this deal affects Matt’s relationship with Major League Eating. Expulsion from the top 50 has been the traditional indication that a signee has fallen afoul of the MLE contract. Matt currently remains ranked at #3.
BroadbandTV, which labels itself as "an enabling platform for content owners that is advancing the world through the distribution, management and monetization of content" announces it has signed Matt Stonie along with 7 other youtube stars.
A FactSquared database indicates that Nathan's Famous has repaid the $1.2M loan they received from the federal government intended for small businesses impacted by coronavirus.
Nathan’s Famous SEC document
An April 21 SEC document for Nathan’s Famous announces that the company has received a $1.22M Paycheck Protection Program loan from the federal government and that its hot dogs were produced by a currently closed Smithfield Foods meatpacking plant in Sioux Falls, SD which has been labelled as the top coronavirus hotspot in the USA. Despite the shutdown, Nathan’s does not expect a disruption in national frankfurter supplies even if the facility’s reopening (currently scheduled for the week of April 27) is delayed.
The primary manufacturer of our hot dogs, Smithfield Foods, has recently announced the closure of four of its plants due to COVID-19. The only plant closure that has any relationship to our operations is the Sioux Falls plant which is currently scheduled to reopen during the week of April 27, 2020. In the event that the Smithfield Foods plant reopening is delayed, we do not anticipate that the rapidly evolving COVID-19 outbreak will have a material adverse effect on our supply of hot dogs over the next several months.
update Daily Beast reports that Nathan’s will return the loan.
update April 28 President Trump announced he will invoke the Defense Production Act to force meatpacking facilities to remain open. Nathan’s Famous executive chairman Howard Lorber is a friend of the Trump family and hosted a fundraiser in 2018.
An action of Kevin "LA Beast" Strahle about to eat a cactus has been produced.
Telegram.com has an article about Crazy Legs Conti speaking to class titled "Marketing to You" held at Clark University, in Worcester, MA. The course teacher was Lawrence Norman, a friend of Conti's since high school.
Raina Huang competed in Jack in the Box Tiny Taco eating contest in an advertisement produced by BuzzFeed Video.
RestaurantBusinessOnline.com has an article about Nathan's Famous plans to expand its menu beyond hot dogs with items like cheesesteak and chicken sandwiches. The project hopes to reverse a declining trend for the chain, which saw the number of its locations drop from 300 to 213 from 2013 to 2019, resulting in a negative 5.5% growth rate. (via patch.com)
The Hustle has a post about the economics of all you can eat buffets claiming that the number of all you can eat restaurants have declined by 26% since 1998.
Krystal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. The chain known for its sliders held the Krystal Square Off burger eating contest from 2004 to 2009. The $50,000 awarded by the 2009 Krystal Square Off is probably the largest cash purse for an American eating contest. The company will look to continue operations after reorganizing, which it was able to do following a 1997 bankruptcy filing. (via Stephanie Wu)
"Jimmie Chestbump", author of a children's competitive eating book published last year, posted pictures of his competitive eating trading cards.
Bob Shoudt announced he has started selling T-shirts at gummymall.com
The New York Post has an article about Englishwoman Charna Rowley quitting her job to focus on a youtube channel (currently at 3,040 subscribers) in which she eats meals containing up to 5,500 calories. Boy George,former lead singer of the Culture Club, was unimpressed by the the career decision.
Mashed.com has an article titled "Here's how much competitive eaters really make".
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