By one account, Handwerker was encouraged by singing waiters Eddie Cantor and Jimmy Durante to go into business in competition with Feltman's; as United Press International noted in 1974, "There are many stories about Nathan and how the business began, but this is the way he told it..." The company's official history does not mention the encouragement of those two entertainers. Nathan and Ida spent their life savings of $300 to begin the business. One story claims that to help build his savings faster, Handwerker's only meals were the hot dogs that he could eat at work for free. That same year, Handwerker and his new wife, Ida Handwerker, opened a small hot dog stand with a two-foot grill on the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in Coney Island. Abstract of subscription article. Note: Source gives age as 83, although Handwerker in Famous Nathan documentary gives his birth year as 1892, which agrees with June 14, 1892, birth date at the Social Security Death Index. They spiced their hot dogs with Ida's secret recipe and sold them for a nickel.
