To fans of competitive eating, the Fourth of July wouldn’t be complete without watching Joey Chestnut practically inhale dozens of hot dogs.
Luckily for them, they don’t have to worry about that.
Joey Chestnut will be gobbling down hot dogs at a contest on Independence Day, however, instead of doing it at Coney Island. He’ll be doing it in front of the troops at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Chestnut broke with Nathan’s Famous, the longtime sponsor of the Coney Island hot dog eating contest, after he signed a sponsorship deal with Impossible Foods.
No matter, Chestnut says he will spend the 4th of July taking on speed-eating soldiers instead.
“If they (each) break ten, that’d be pretty good,” the hot dog-eating champ told The Associated Press.
Chestnut hopes to return to Coney Island next year to compete in the Nathan’s Famous contest. However, he isn’t thrilled with how his sponsorship deal was handled.
“I feel bullied,” Chestnut said. “If I’m ever going to work with them again, they’re going to have to apologize.”
Major League Eating spokesman George Shea did not make it sound like an apology was forthcoming.
“Unfortunately, this was not enough to get us to an agreement,” the statement said. “We think this is a powerful tribute to our armed forces, and we wish Joey the best of luck at his event.”
Chestnut still holds the record for eating 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes in 2021.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.