Gray’s Papaya founder has died

Nicholas Gray, the founder of Gray’s Papaya, which sells cheap hot dogs paired with papaya juice, has died at 86. Mr. Gray, who worked on Wall Street, left his job in 1973 and started his business after walking past a Papaya King storefront and seeing it crowded with people. He became a Papaya King franchisee before opening Gray’s Papaya two years later. Hot dogs and papaya juice are a New York tradition with businesses called 14th Street Papaya, Chelsea Papaya, Empire Papaya, Papaya International, Papaya World, Papaya World II, Papaya Heaven and Papaya Paradise catering to locals and visitors to the city.