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,AEVERYBODY KNOWS,A,
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THE BEST TUNA IN TOWN

WE ALSO HAVE
GREAT FAT-FREE TUNA

AND

OUR OWN HANDCUT LOX!

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OUR TRAYS CAN'T
BE BEAT
FOR QUALITY & PRICE!

Meat Tray $5.50 per person $
Dai
Dairy Tray $9.75 per person

• Expires 12-31-95
• One Per Customer

With

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This Coupon

DELIVERY
AVAILABLE

• 10 Person Minimum

STAR DELI

24555 W. 12 MILE, Just West of Telegraph

Southfield

352-7377

Enjoy Our

GREAT NEW MENU

-

And Listen And Dance
To The Wonderful Music Of

BILLY ROSE QUARTET.* . =

Appearing Wed, Fri. & Sat.
- c c:, I.‹-t i 1
SUNDAY BRUNCH
- s-til-‹
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10:30-2:30

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"Relaxed dining in a pleasant, airy atmosphere, good smiling
service and good food."... Danny Raskin, The Jewish News

-

0 Ijilara P I

2555 W. 12 MILE AT COOLIDGE
.

399-6750

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ARRIVA

The piano
artistry o f

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David
Syme

September 17
Dinner 6, Show 8
834.95 Includes Dinner and Show

Aniva

Rainbow
room

Coming Soon - The Gaylords
Sept. 8, 9 and Sept. 15, 16

6880 E. 12 Mile Rd. in Warren • For Reservations, Call (810) 573-8100

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86

•

"Me Simone Vitale
Band is an assurance
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D

Danny Raskin, Jewish News

• Weddings
• Bar/Bat Mitzvahs
• Anniversaries
• Private Parties

FOR ALL YOUR
HAPPY OCCASIONS

(810) 544-7373

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A National Chain
Of Great Coney Islands

DANNY RASKIN LOCAL COLUMNIST

O

ver 30 years ago, at 73,
Tom Giftos was working
with his 27-year-old son,
Jim, when they opened
their first National Coney Island
in Macomb Mall in Roseville.
It was opened with the addi-
tional help of four employees ...
The menu was a simple one with
hot dogs, bowls of chili, ham-
burgers, potato chips and soda
pop.
The original restaurant had
just 50 seats, including a 15-stool
counter which has since become
sort of a National Coney Island
trademark.
Today, Tom is 103 years old
and still helps Jim, who now also
has the added assistance of his
26-year-old son, Tom Jr. ... as
they continue to celebrate their
30th anniversary ... with over
600 employees.
Three generations of Giftos
have seen National Coney Island
grow from that first little unit to
a hearty 12 in the metropolitan
Detroit area ... Last year, they
sold a combined total of 1,598,011
Coney Island hot dogs.
The most recent one opened in
July 1994, on the corner of 12
Mile and Main in Royal Oak ...
National Coney Island's second
largest ... Number one in size,
seating 300, is on Van Dyke in
Warren.
In the '40s, when Tom senior
was behind the grill in downtown
Detroit at Lafayette Coney Is-
land, the thought of a 12-restau-
rant chain was to him as
far-fetched as making
chateaubriand for his stool-seat-
ed coney customers.
But he didn't reckon with hav-
ing such an ambitious son as Jim
or a grandson like Tom Jr.
Tom Sr. could make those
coney zingers with everything on
`ern — jazzy chili, onions and
mustard — while walking in his
sleep ... Even today, whenever
Jim opens another National
Coney Island unit, his 103-year-
old dad makes the first dog.
National Coney Island is not
your ordinary type of coney op-
eration ... For one thing, you'll
never find a microwave oven in
any National kitchen ... Jim is
dead-set against them.
He and son Tom Jr. are always
experimenting ... like turkey
coneys with meatless chili and
other prospective menu items
which have been suggested by
National followers.
The former Jameson's Bar &
Grill that had previously been on
the Royal Oak site was corn-

pletely demolished and in its
stead arose a totally new struc-
ture.
National Coney Island on 12
Mile and Main seats 183 at ta-
bles and booths in the dining
area, and 60 at an outside patio
... It is a 24-hour operation, sev-
en days a week, with many em-
ployees, one time or another,
working at other National locales
for on-the-spot training as well
as the regular preparation that
is given them.
The hustle and bustle is by
folks who seem to follow Nation-
al Coney Island whenever it
opens a new restaurant ... along
with so many living near the area
and glad the need is gone to trav-
el for i is extensive family menu.
The outside sign looks like a
marquee on an old-time theater

es, Mexican and Greek special-
ties (many of them homemade,
using family recipes), etc.
Homemade features are heavy
favorites ... The rice pudding,
lemon rice soup and other dish-
es are from recipes of Tom Sr.'s
late wife, Anastasia, who passed
on in 1991.
National Coney Island would
best be billed as "The Different
Coney Island" because that's re-
ally what it is ... When people
think of this restaurant style,
greasy spoon many times nor-
mally comes to mind.
Jim Giftos, with dad Tom
Giftos and son, Tom Giftos Jr. ...
have done much in doing away
with this image ... In fact, with
them it doesn't even exist.
CONGRATS ... to Julius
Gross ... on his 100th birthday

National Coney's Tom Jr., Tom and Jim Gilles.

... Inside, there is a lot of neon
striping, light oak, open glass
viewing with windows lining an
entire outside wall of the dining
room, green padded booths and
chairs, gleaming brass, tile, lead-
ed glass lighting fixtures, chrome,
etc.
National has a non-stop busi-
ness ... feeding over 3,000 people
a day at the 12 Mile and Main
restaurant.
Coney Island sandwiches may
be the foundation upon which
National was founded, but its
menu is much more than the
norm.
A full-service operation, it to-
day has a complete breakfast,
lunch and dinner menu, with
over 100 items to choose from, in-
cluding omelettes, blueberry pan-
cakes, salads, breast of chicken
sandwiches, fish, vegetarian dish-

... to Carol Rankin ... on her 50th
birthday.
NEW NAME of Michigan
Cancer Foundation is Barbara
Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute
... and Aug. 23, it'll get 10 per-
cent of all P'Jazz ticket sales from
folks who'll hear Ursala Walker,
Buddy Budson, George Benson
and Marcus Belgrave at Crowne
Plaza Pontchartrain Hotel on
Washington Boulevard ... 5:30
p.m. and 7:30 p.m. ... $12 per
person.
P'Jazz on the Pontch terrace
under the stars was originally
started by Chuck Muer, and soon
became a part of Detroit for over
two decades before ending in
1989.
One hundred percent of pro-
ceeds from sneak preview open-
ing of Relish by Unique
Restaurant Corp., on West