A restaurant in Fort Worth is celebrating the Fourth of July by giving away hundreds of free hot dogs. Curly's Frozen Custard serves Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, the same used at Coney Island.
Owner Bourke Harvey switched to Nathan's Famous in 2011. He got the company's approval to start his own eating contest to announce the hot dogs. He just had to change the rules from an all-you-can eat contest to a timed competition to see who could eat four hot dogs the fastest.
"They just said, 'We want you to do it. We love the branding, you've just got to do it a different way," Harvey says.
But as the competition grew, Harvey says he noticed the event overshadowing his goal for the restaurant. Instead of providing a place for families to enjoy time together, Independence Day had become about the contest.
After the pandemic, he changed from an eating contest to a hot dog give-away. This year, he gave away 230 hot dogs around lunchtime to mark his 23 years in business. Each person received one hot dog, and Harvey watched as families had lunch under the trees on his patio Friday.
"I love it, absolutely love it," he says. "We've also pivoted to add American flags for every single customer who comes in here. You're an American. It doesn't matter what your politics are. That's what we try to do here."
Harvey opened the store 23 years ago. He says he now sees customers who came as children now bringing their own kids.
"It becomes a tradition, not just for Curly's but for the community around here," he says. "They know Curly's is going to be celebrating, and we want to be part of it. It's really cool."
This year, the U.S. Census estimated Fort Worth's population has passed one million people. As more people move to the city from places like New York, Harvey says his stand can provide familiar brands like Nathan's but also introduce newcomes to local food. This month, he started selling peach frozen custard made with Parker County peaches.
"It's totally legit, too. Parker County peaches are the best in the world, no question," Harvey says. "Christopher, our manager, drives out there three times a week. We buy them, peel them up here, and that's our number one seller. Parker County, everyone knows them. We're in Tarrant County, but everyone loves Parker County peaches."
Harvey's Westland Hospitality also owns JD's Hamburgers, Margie's Italian Gardens, Pulido's Kitchen and Cantina and West Side Cafe in Fort Worth. He says the restaurants aim to show off local ingredients and cuisine.
"You win with service, and there's not much service in the world, today," he says. "We hope we serve our customers."
