#7: Nedick’s
Robert T. Neeley and Orville A. Dickson opened the first Nedick’s as a tiny stall located out front of Manhattan’s Bartholdi Hotel in 1913. At the time, Nedicks’s was known for its incredible fresh squeezed OJ, but as the chain expanded, so did its menu.
By the 1950s, Nedick’s had added donuts, brewed coffee, and hot dogs to the menu — the hot dog was served in a toasted bun with a mustard relish you’d have wanted to write home about. Unfortunately, condiments weren’t enough to save Nedick’s. Shortly after reports of poor quality products at its concession stand at the Central Park Zoo in 1981, Nedick’s’ top-brass thought it best to concede to its big-time rivals and shut down the business.