Detroit Coney dog controversies: 4 battles over the iconic dog you may not know
The humble Coney Island hot dog is much like a figure in Greek mythology: the hot dog that launched a thousand ships and could make you immortal with one bite.
Well, sort of. It's at the very least the hot dog that has been the subject of much debate (usually over a soda and a wobbly diner table). The dog, and the numerous restaurants slinging it, have seen a lot of controversy in the over 100 years of its existence, including legal controversy and battles for honor
Here are four Coney dog controversies in history:
According to an August 1935 story in the Detroit Free Press, the two owners of a restaurant named the Coney Island Lunch downriver in Monroe sued the owner of another joint, the Star Lunch Shack for advertising its "Coney Island Hot Dogs" with a large sign.
The owners of the Coney Island Lunch argued the name applied to the restaurant, not the hot dog. And a circuit judge agreed, ruling the Star Lunch Shack couldn't advertise its Coney Island dogs.
It's unknown what happened to the Coney Island Lunch or the Star Lunch Shack, but Coneys have long been a ubiquitous frankfurter and continued to proliferate in diners and dives across Michigan.
In 1973, a panel of what the Free Press deemed gourmets (including an editor of an automobile magazine to a national travel host) decried the "zestless Coney," or a dog without onions.
Onions were having a bad year in 1973 thanks to a meager harvest caused by weather − So bad that shortages and price increases routinely made national news, including a headline in The New York Times which declared "Even Onion Prices Are Bringing Tears." But you can't keep Detroiters from their ideal Coney combination: Chili, mustard, and, not to be forgotten, the onions.
According to a front page 1973 Detroit Free Press article, the shortage left the iconic Lafayette Coney Island restaurant without onions. Owners of other Coney restaurants vowed to still include onions while Lafayette's owner at the time said he could not find onions of high enough quality. Even actress Carol Channing issued a statement on onion-less Coneys: "It's like taking the Statue of Liberty from the New York Harbor. It's just not authentic."
In 1988, the city attempted to condemn Jolly Jim's Coney Island, then a small restaurant on Woodward across from the Fox Theatre. Little Caesars Pizza owner and founder Mike Ilitch Sr. was renovating the Fox to begin the multimillion dollar entertainment district long envisioned in the city's central artery.
Jolly Jim's, which in 1988 had been in business for 35 years, was in the way. Jolly Jim's and other property owners fought the attempted condemnation in court, arguing the city failed to reason why the Fox project couldn't proceed with the restaurant still standing. Little Caesars, in its deal with the city to redevelop the property, threatened to pull out of the deal if Jolly Jim's won.
The Coney restaurant prevailed, and later that year Jolly's Jims sold to an Ohio businessman for $230,000. The land was then leased to a developer and the rest was history: Where Jolly Jim's once stood is the parking lot leading to Comerica Park.
They were tiny scurrying fuel to the fire of an already-existing Coney dog feud. An ongoing rodent infestation flared tempers between Detroit's two landmark Coney restaurants, which just happen to be located next door to each other, Lafayette Coney Island and American Coney Island.
In January for the second time in three years, Lafayette temporarily shuttered after the Detroit Health Department visited, citing a rodent infestation. The closure came after the health department received a complaint from a customer about rat sightings and investigators found droppings in the restaurant's basement.
American Coney owner Grace Keros held a news conference in February to criticize her restaurant's neighbor and make it clear that American is different from Lafayette.
"You shouldn't be able to get away with that," she said of the rat problem. "Fix it or get out."
In March, Lafayette reopened and Denise Fair Razo, Detroit's chief public health officer, said the restaurant had successfully addressed the problem, making upgrades and sealing key entrances for rodents.
"Everything is brand new,' Fair Razo said. "It's night and day from the new lighting, from the modernized equipment they have in place.'
Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Four Detroit Coney dog controversies and calamities from history
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