031105 Nathan's Offers New Burger

Westbury, NY - Nathan's Famous Inc., known for its hot dogs and fries, is rolling out a new cheeseburger that's so messy it's handing out free bibs.

In a bid to add some more sizzle to its menu, the fast-food chain this week began selling the Big Sloppy, a quarter-pound burger topped with all the usual fixings -- cheddar cheese, ketchup, mayonnaise, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, pickles -- and a couple of crisp onion rings.

"It's a real mouthful. You have to watch what you're doing," Nathan's president Wayne Norbitz said yesterday. "We thought that handing out the bib was a cute idea." The bibs are torso-length, white plastic tie-ons with the Big Sloppy emblazoned in red.

The $2.99 burger is available at Nathan's units that sell hamburgers, about a third of the chain's 160 restaurants, which are mostly in the Northeast. A double beef sandwich called the Great Big Sloppy sells for $3.99.

Norbitz said the new burger is aimed at re-enforcing Nathan's four-hamburger menu and will be a limited-time option to lure consumers back to its restaurants. He said the company offers menu specials about six times a year and that some items become so popular they are never taken off. He offered no prognositication on the Big Sloppy's longevity.

The new burger sandwich originally was developed three years ago for Nathan's Florida-based Miami Subs chain, where it proved to be a popular choice, Norbitz said. "That gave us the idea to put it in the Nathan's network."

Hamburgers, Norbitz said, are the chain's third most popular menu item after hot dogs and fries. Not all Nathan's serve hamburgers because the chain's units vary in size from 300 square feet to its 10,000-square- foot, block-long original outlet in Coney Island.

The new burger introduction comes at a time when other fast-food chains are introducing healthier menu offerings, such as salads and low-fat sandwiches. The industry is under growing attack for its role in Americans' obesity.

"There certainly are concerns over health," Norbitz said, noting that consumers, nevertheless, are voting with the mouths. "Beef consumption is real significant and on the rise."

Beef, mostly hamburger, dominates the menus of fast-food restaurants across the country. But sales growth of burgers has stagnated since the early 1990s, according to Port Washington-basedNPD Group Inc.

A nutritional analysis of the new Nathan's burger was not available. Nathan's regular cheeseburger, which also weighs in at 4 ounces, packs 850 calories, 65% from fat; 135 milligrams of cholesterol, and 135 milligrams of sodium, according to the company's Web site.

Nathan's is promoting the new burger inside its stores with materials developed by Manhattan-based Manhattan Marketing Ensemble.

RETURN TO HOME PAGE

E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com