Skip to content
MarketScale
‹ Back to IndustriesFood & Beverage

How Nathan’s Famous Gave Its Old Dogs Some New Tricks for the Younger Generation

Food is serious business. Now, on The Main Course, host Barbara Castiglia will invite insiders on the front lines of food to share their expertise, strategies, and forecasts for navigating the ever-changing restaurant industry.   On this episode of The Main Course, Host Barbara Castiglia talked with James Walker, Senior Vice President, Restaurants for Nathan’s Famous. The duo…

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Food & Beverage teams put it to work with Customer Stories & Case Studies.

Promoted content from The Main Course on MarketScale.

Share

Get featured

Want to get featured in MarketScale Food & Beverage?

Create a free MarketScale workspace and get your company's expertise featured across our Food & Beverage coverage. No credit card, no demo required.

Request an invite

Food is serious business. Now, on The Main Course, host Barbara Castiglia will invite insiders on the front lines of food to share their expertise, strategies, and forecasts for navigating the ever-changing restaurant industry.

On this episode of The Main Course, Host Barbara Castiglia talked with James Walker, Senior Vice President, Restaurants for Nathan’s Famous. The duo dug into one of the most well-known brands, worldwide expansion, and innovation, especially during COVID.

“Food is the only art form you experience with all your senses, and you must experience to live.” -James Walker

Walker is a top restaurant industry expert specializing in rebranding and repositioning iconic American comfort food brands. He is an industry-leading authority in restaurant technology and delivery channels, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, domestic and international operations, franchising, and new product development. His career launched in the early 1990s on the culinary side, working in fine dining restaurants.

“What initially attracted me to the hospitality industry is a passion for food,” Walker said. “One of the things I’ve said, if there was a James Walker quote, ‘Food is the only art form you experience with all your senses, and you must experience to live.’”

His time spent in the back of the house and kitchens transitioned over the years to the service side of the business. This is something that he brings a passion for at Nathan’s. When he got the call to work for them, the thing he was most excited about was the brand itself. He loves the food, the locations, and the way the company works. But that’s not all.

“Yes, the possibility of discounted hotdogs was probably one of those things that got me excited,” Walker said cheekily. “But, it was a brand I could see myself really being a passionate brand evangelist.”

The company continues to grow worldwide, and he shares more on this episode.

A New Episode is Served Up Every Tuesday and Thursday!

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale

Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

The Main Course

Part of this channel

The Main Course

Where restaurant and food industry insiders talk real business.

Visit the channel

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Food & Beverage starts with a company putting its plant managers, quality leads, and R&D teams on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Processors and grocery buyers vet suppliers hard, and your operations people are the ones who can satisfy them.

Get your team featuredSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

Follow Food & Beverage Insights

Get new expert content in your inbox.

Food & Beverage: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Food & Beverage buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. See how AI describes your company today, and where competitors show up instead.

Free workspace

You just read one Food & Beverage expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your plant managers, quality leads, and R&D teams into the articles, video, and social content Food & Beverage buyers are searching for. Create a free workspace and see it with your own people. No credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What you get, free

Your own MarketScale Studio workspace
One video edit a month, on us
AI writing, editing, and publishing tools
In-platform coaching to learn the system

More Food & Beverage Insights

44% of higher-income shoppers are buying more private label

44% of higher-income shoppers are buying more private label

Simon-Kucher found 44% of higher-income U.S. shoppers are increasing private label purchases, according to Food Business News. Circana put U.S. private-label sales at $330 billion in 2025, according to Food Business News. Retailers are offering tiered private label lines, including premium options, according to Food Business News.

  • 01Premium private label is no longer a niche: Simon-Kucher found 56% of higher-income consumers intentionally buy premium store brands, a useful benchmark for assortment planning.
  • 02Before budgeting, align definitions: Circana’s $330B figure spans broader private label, while Mintel’s $141.2B estimate is food-and-drink only, according to IFT.org.

Sep 13, 2026

Food Plant Awards Weigh Layout and Utility Performance

Food Plant Awards Weigh Layout and Utility Performance

Food Engineering named Carolina Foods' Pineville, N.C. facility its 2025 Plant of the Year, citing linear layout, automation and fryer-room zoning. Food Processing's Sept. 8, 2026 Green Plant of the Year feature highlighted Perdue Farms' Lewiston, N.C. plant for greenhouse gas and water reductions.

  • 01Carolina Foods' award-winning 425,000-square-foot expansion in Pineville, North Carolina used linear layout and fryer room separation to raise throughput while maintaining safety and quality.
  • 02Food Engineering judges prioritize automation strategy, processing and packaging line design, and supply chain management as plant evaluation criteria.
  • 03MarketScale analysis suggests operators may find it useful to document material flow paths, separate high-heat or high-variability steps like frying from the rest of production, and set a metering and verification baseline for utility and emissions data to support later comparisons.

Sep 13, 2026

Yellow Wood to Acquire Nestlé's Nature's Bounty Platform for $1B

Yellow Wood to Acquire Nestlé's Nature's Bounty Platform for $1B

Yellow Wood Partners agreed on Sept. 1, 2026 to acquire Nestlé's vitamins, minerals and supplements platform, which includes Nature's Bounty, Nuun, Osteo Bi-Flex and Gard, for $1 billion. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first half of 2027.

  • 01Yellow Wood Partners agreed to buy Nestlé's vitamins, minerals and supplements platform for $1 billion on Sept. 1, 2026
  • 02The platform includes Nature's Bounty, Nuun, Osteo Bi-Flex and Gard; The Wall Street Journal cites Sisu as part of a seven-brand portfolio
  • 03The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approval

Sep 10, 2026

Explore More Food & Beverage Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Food & Beverage.

Browse Food & Beverage Hub

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Food & Beverage and beyond.

Book a 15-minute demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512