Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Contest Qualifying Circuit Visits San Antonio On March 18th

JERICHO, N.Y., March 17, 2017 -- Nathan’s Famous will host the Texas qualifier for the annual Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest at 1 P.M. on Saturday, March 18, 2017. The event, presented in partnership with H-E-B supermarkets, will take place at Alamodome North Plaza in San Antonio as part of the H-E-B Big League Weekend Fan Fest.

The top male and female finishers in the event will qualify for a seat at the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, Brooklyn, on July 4^th, 2017, where they will face reigning champions Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo.

“The journey to July 4^th and the high point of summer has begun,” said Scott Harvey, executive vice president of Nathan’s Famous. “Nathan’s is honored to be traveling the nation in search of new eating talent to participate in our annual July 4^th tradition.”

“Competing in Coney Island on July 4^th is item number one on most people’s bucket list,” said Major League Eating Chairman George Shea. “Texas is known for great eaters and we are confident that we will find a local athlete in San Antonio who can represent the great state of Texas on our nation’s birthday.”

Joey Chestnut of San Jose, CA, currently holds the title of hot dog-eating world champion after defeating Matt Stonie with a July 4^th world-record 70-hot-dog performance in 2016. Chestnut’s all-time best is a world record 73 Nathan’s Famous hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. Miki Sudo of Las Vegas, NV, will defend her title as female champion, having consumed 38 1/2 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes in 2016. 

In recent years, an estimated 35,000 fans have traveled to the corner of Surf and Stillwell avenues in Coney Island to watch the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest in person. The live telecast of the event has consistently attracted millions of viewers since ESPN first aired the contest in 2004.

According to legend, the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest has occurred each July 4^th in Coney Island, N.Y., since 1916, the year Nathan Handwerker opened the legendary restaurant. MLE, the governing body of all stomach-centric sports, sanctions the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog-Eating Circuit and ensures the contests are judged professionally and that safety standards are in place at each event.

Those interested in competing in the Texas qualifier should visit www.majorleagueeating.com to obtain information and register. All competitors must be over 18 years of age.

Smithfield Foods is the licensee of Nathan’s Famous.

About Nathan's Famous, Inc.
Nathan’s is a Russell 2000 Company that currently distributes its products in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Cayman Islands and ten foreign countries through its restaurant system, foodservice sales programs and product licensing activities. Last year, over 500 million Nathan’s Famous hot dogs were sold. Nathan’s was ranked #22 on the Forbes 2014 list of the Best Small Companies in America and was listed as the Best Small Company in New York State in October 2013. For additional information about Nathan’s please visit our website at www.nathansfamous.com. The contents of our website have not been incorporated into and do not form a part of this press release.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including SmithfieldⓇ, EckrichⓇ, Nathan's FamousⓇ, FarmlandⓇ, ArmourⓇ, John MorrellⓇ, Cook'sⓇ, KretschmarⓇ, GwaltneyⓇ, Curly'sⓇ, MargheritaⓇ, CarandoⓇ, Healthy OnesⓇ, KrakusⓇ, MorlinyⓇ and BerlinkiⓇ. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.

PRESS CONTACT:	Major League Eating, Tess O’Brien: (212) 352-8651