Dive Brief:
- Nathan’s Famous has opened a franchised restaurant in Rock Hill, South Carolina, with a new restaurant design, the company announced Thursday.
- The Rock Hill store is the first standalone unit built with the brand’s new design standards, which include a modernized point-of-sales system and double drive-thru, according to the announcement.
- Nathan’s ended 2024 with four company-operated U.S. restaurants and a global restaurant system of 230 franchised restaurants, including 153 in the U.S., and 196 virtual kitchens, according Nathan’s 2024 annual report.
Dive Insight:
Nathan’s new store design is not strictly new — some versions of it have been in the works since 2020.
“We’ve opened and remodeled many new franchised and licensed locations in travel plazas, airports and other inline units,” Phil McCann, the VP of marketing at the hot dog chain, said.
Nathan’s adapted its unit design and menu to the local market, according to the release. The Rock Hill store blends New York inspired loft elements with “classic features of historic architecture,” the release states. The hot dog brand is serving its full menu at the Rock Hill location, but added ripper dogs, a hot dog deep fried until the skin ruptures.
By opening up new real estate possibilities, this design could help Nathan’s reverse a slow decline in its domestic store count. Nathan’s operates two franchising programs, a conventional program and a branded menu program. The latter “enable[s] approved foodservice operators
to offer a Nathan’s Famous menu of Nathan’s World Famous Beef Hot Dogs, crinkle-cut French fries, proprietary toppings and a limited menu of other Nathan’s products,” according to the annual report.
The brand’s conventional franchising system has shrunk in recent years, according to its franchise disclosure document. Nathan’s franchisee store base fell from 85 at the start of 2022 to 71 at the end of 2024, according to its FDD.
If the Rock Hill unit is successful, it may serve as proof of concept for domestic expansion in new footprints for the hot dog chain.
Nathan’s may be looking for new growth platforms. Its virtual kitchen program, which launched in 2021, peaked in 2022 at 287 locations, per the brand’s 2022 annual report. The program slid to 267 the next year and 196 in 2024, per respective annual reports. Its virtual kitchens, since early 2024, have operated exclusively through Franklin Junction’s platform.
The decline of Nathan’s virtual program from its COVID-19 pandemic heights corresponds with a gradual narrowing of ambition in the ghost kitchen and virtual brand sector. Companies like Reef Technology, once a Nathan’s partner, have shut locations and pivoted to selling tech.
