The New York Times reports that Smithfield Foods meatpacking plant in Sioux Falls, SD, which has been labeled as the top coronavirus hotspot in the USA, will resume operations tomorrow. One of the products the facility produces is Nathan’s Famous hot dogs.

In Sioux Falls, S.D., where the virus sickened more than 1,000 people at a Smithfield pork processing plant, the outbreak appears to be slowing, Mayor Paul TenHaken said. More than 4,000 Smithfield employees, their family members and close contacts, were recently tested.

Yet the mayor fears that his city’s progress could be temporary. On Monday, the plant will begin slaughtering hogs again. Hundreds of employees will be back together at work.

“I’ll be honest, it makes me nervous,” Mr. TenHaken said. “We’ve seen how a zero-case facility can become a 1,000-case facility.”

Nathan’s Famous did not expect the closure to have a negative impact on hot dog supply in a SEC document from April.

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AMNY has an article about the prospects for Coney Island which includes quotes from George Shea on options for Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest:

The popular Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest also hangs, in the balance with several proposals by George Shea, the organizer and “ring master” of the event, as he tries to find an alternative way to hold the Independence Day hot dog extravaganza that normally attracts thousands.

The contest itself isn’t officially canceled. Shea is looking at ways to hold the July 4 ‘gorgefest’ behind closed doors, possibly without a crowd as Major League Baseball is proposing.

Shea, the eternal optimist, is being hit badly by the pandemic. Many of his projects involve large crowds.

“We can hold the Hot Dog Eat contest with 10 people if we needed,” said Shea, who views the contest as American as apple pie and a proud Fourth of July tradition.

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Crow’s Theatre in Leslieville, ON will show “CHEW: A Gastronomical Musical Odyssey into the Strange World of Competitive Eating” on June 3. The documentary will be screened online and tickets will include a home-delivered meal. The film has the following description:

As one competitor puts it: “It’s like a standing-still parade. We just happen to be eating food.” Over the course of several years, Montreal playwright Sarah Segal-Lazar interviewed dozens of competitive eaters in Canada and the States to figure out what drives them to stretch their stomachs beyond comprehension. Inspired by London Road and A Chorus Line, co-creators Segal-Lazar, Anika Johnson and Andrew Kushnir have discovered the ideal container for the excesses of the sport: a musical. Chew takes documentary theatre to new places, and competitive eating to new limits. Whether it’s tucking away tamales in Texas or pulverising pretzels in Providence, the reasons we do unreasonable things can be most surprising of all.

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