Hot dogs are so closely linked to Coney Island in New York that the word "coney" actually means hot dog in some parts of the United States. We know it as a hot dog because it was invented on Coney Island. 

German-born immigrant Charles Feltman ran a food pushcart on Coney Island's beaches in 1869. As a result, he offered pleasure-seekers something from his home country: a frankfurter.

Rather than serve it on a plate with potato salad, he made it into a roll, so it's easy to carry. He called it Coney Island Red Hot, but everyone else knew it as the hot dog.

In 1910, Feltman died, but his sons carried on Feltman's Hot Dogs. Soon, his sons were selling enough food to turn the pushcart into an eatery. In the 1920s, Feltman's Hot Dogs was a restaurant and beer garden with a carousel.

Unfortunately, the brand did not last. After being bought and sold three times, it closed its doors in 1954. Feltman was a local, so he never forgot his days his creation on Coney Island.

Joe and Michael Quinn, Feltman’s grandsons are out to make sure no one forgets the creation by investing in the resurrection of their family’s original hot dog brand.

Their grandfather told them stories about Coney Island, even though it was run down when they grew up there. They've always wanted to reopen Feltman's Hot Dogs. So they made a plan.
Joe (the youngest brother) went to West Point for a career in the military. Jimmy, the middle brother, got a job at Cantor Fitzgerald and started a business.

Sadly, the dream was cut short. At the same time, Joe was a senior at the U.S. Military Academy when Jimmy was killed during the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center.

Joe, who served two tours in Iraq, left the Army in 2015. Those two surviving brothers vowed to honor Jimmy's wishes, and they haven’t given up. Today, Feltman's Hot Dogs are sold in 1,200 stores, from Publix to Whole Foods, with its headquarters in Brooklyn headquarters.

It's also West Point's first official hot dog.

"To go to Michie Stadium, see the logo I created, see people eating the hot dogs and talking about it, it's just a surreal sort of situation," Michael said. "No one even heard of Charles Feltman or heard of Feltman's Coney Island, and to resurrect that, it's just incredible. To me, it's taking that history, infusing it with meaning and doing it in memory of our brother."