Hot Dog Victory

Until Charles Feltman came along, the clam was king of Coney Island. But in 1871, Feltman started selling hot dogs from a small shore lot. He had 3,684 customers that year, and they loved Feltman’s sausage in a bun, spreading the news to their friends and neighbors. Word-of-mouth was all the advertising Feltman needed to grow his operation. By 1923, he had a chain of Coney Island restaurants that catered to the tastes of more than 5.2 million customers.