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Dueling Coneys

Danny Raskin

Senior Columnist

American &

Lafayette both

still going

strong.

ABOVE: Side by side, both American
& Lafayette Coney Islands draw
crowds of hungry patrons.

An argument that shouldn’t
be continues as a major topic
among numerous folks as to
which of two local restaurants
… both still in business today
… was first in opening its doors
many years before the Detroit
Jewish News published its ini-
tial edition in 1942.
When he came to America in
search of those places people
back home talked about … the
streets paved with gold … Gus
(Gust) Keros soon discovered
that it was just a pipe dream
… But he found a substitute
that was almost as good …
Soon realizing that his hot dog
knowledge from home mightily
came in handy.
It was in 1925, 17 years prior
to the Detroit Jewish News’
beginning, when he found a
very successful endeavor here
that might have brought anoth-
er kind of gold much quicker …
called American Coney Island
on Lafayette Avenue, Detroit
… So much so that he sent for
brother Bill Keros in Greece to
come work for him.
Bill not only learned consid-
erably more working for his
brother, but he learned enough
to open his own Lafayette
Coney Island in 1931 … named
after the street he, too, was on
… and right next door to Gus’s
American Coney Island … Bill
also found his own type of gold
… and both have flourished

greatly, welcoming hotties and
chopped chili hamburger lov-
ers galore.
I can still taste those lus-
cious Coneys I enjoyed walking
the graveyard beat midnight
to 8 a.m. for the Detroit News
in 1941 and rarely missing a
middle of the night visit to one
or the other so many luscious
times.
Both had the same yummy
hot dogs, but each seemed to
have their own style of tasty
chili hamburger topped with
a lot of onions … So much so
that many times I chose just
the hamburger with onions
… They were both thankfully
open in the wee hours of the
night … and folks kept gain-
ing a few eye-closing pounds
… Yes, both American and
Lafayette Coney Island res-
taurants are today still going
strong at their original loca-
tions … as two goodies among
the nation’s great dream-come-
true stories of immigrants who
arrived on these shores and
found great success.
HONORING THE DETROIT
Jewish News’ 75th birthday,
restaurant remembrances by
readers will be featured in the
column.
READER REMEMBERS
DEPT. … From Mort Meisner …
“Rocky’s Pizza on West Seven
Mile, east of Meyers, was my
favorite independent pizza

parlor growing up in Northwest
Detroit. The pepperoni was
always perfectly curled with a
delicious puddle of grease in it.
And hot to the taste. I always
think of how it burned the roof
of my mouth. The sauce was
tangy and the cheese plenti-
ful. I can still picture taking
a bite of a delicious slice and
the whole pie tasting heavenly.
Visiting Rocky’s with my broth-
er Tony, and mom and dad,
Ella and Morris Meisner, after
seeing a double feature at the
Royal Theater was as good as it
ever got. If I was lucky and well
behaved, maybe they would
take me down the street to
Zukin’s for an ice cream soda
or malt.”
BECAUSE OF UNFORSEEN
construction problems at
the aging Kingsley Inn site,
Woodward and Long Lake
Road, opening date of Joe Muer
Seafood Bloomfield Hills has
been changed from April to
May ... Operating partner will
be Joe and Rosalie Vicari’s son,
Dominic Vicari, and general
manager will be Dan O’Connor,
who is coming off more than15
years at Morton Steakhouses
… The first Joe Muer Seafood
by Joe Vicari is still at Detroit’s
Renaissance Center.
REARVIEW MIRROR …
Frank Sinatra in a back booth
with Excalibur owner Pat
Archer, loving their barbecued

ribs prepared by Executive
Chef Marty Wilk … who later
became Excalibur owner …
and continued sending ribs to
Sinatra at his hotel whenever
he came to Detroit … Today,
Marty is director of sales for
the fine prestigious Fairway
Packing Co. in Detroit.
OLDIE BUT GOODIE … A
mild-mannered man is tired
of his wife always bossing him
around, so he decides to go to
a psychiatrist. The doctor tells
him to develop his self-esteem
and gives him a booklet on
assertiveness training. He reads
it on the bus going home.
When he walks through the
door and his wife comes to
greet him, he tells her, “From
now on I’m the man of this
house and my word is law.
When I come home from work
I want my dinner on the table.
Now get upstairs and lay me
out some clothes on the bed
because I’m going out with
the boys tonight. Then draw
my bath. When I get out of the
bath, guess who is going to
dress me and comb my hair?”
“The undertaker,” she replies.
CONGRATS … To Keri Guten
Cohen on her birthday … To
Herb Clifford on his 80th birth-
day … To Ed Radner on his
birthday. •

Danny’s email address is
dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net.

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April 20 • 2017

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