Advertising junior Jennifer Wolff, left, laughs with her friend Residential College of Arts and Humanities junior Chelsea Kinjorski Thursday afternoon at the National Coney Station, 565 E. Grand River Ave, on the restaurant’s opening day of business. Wolff and Kinjorski were excited about the new restaurant saying they “spent their entire lives,” at the National Coney Island in Royal Oak and “there were no real coneys” in East Lansing until the new restaurant opened.
—For advertising junior Eric Dornbrook, Thursday’s grand opening of the National Coney Station, 565 E. Grand River Ave., would be the beginning of a love–hate relationship, he said.
“It’s really a disaster, is what it is,” he said. “We live two blocks away, and now we’re never leaving.”
For Michiganians like Dornbrook, National Coney Island was a staple of childhood and its arrival in East Lansing means Hani sandwiches and Coney dogs will now be an option for students.
National Coney Island was first founded in Roseville, Mich., in 1965, and since then, the restaurant has popped up in more than 20 locations, most of them in metro Detroit. East Lansing’s National Coney Station is the first of its kind in the Lansing area.
The restaurant is a compact version of a National Coney Island where customers can order traditional favorites at the counter and sit down to eat, said Bradford Egan, director of business development for the restaurant.
“There is something for everybody here,” he said.
The restaurant took over the vacant building on East Grand River, previously occupied by E.L. Moe’s Firehouse Grill. Throughout the day on Thursday, business was steady in the remodeled building, Egan said.
“We have been steady as she goes all day,” he said. “Most people have tried out the Coney dogs and the Hani special sandwiches.”
On Wednesday, the restaurant hosted a promotional deal and gave away about 300 Coney dogs in three hours, Egan said.
Williamston resident Gary Umstead said a National Coney Island in East Lansing was a long time coming.
“I’m very glad it’s here,” he said.
Egan said the restaurant will cater to the college crowd with late night hours, 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Wednesday, and 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
Advertising sophomore Patricia Nelson said Thursday was her first time at a National Coney Island restaurant.
“We need some variety on Grand River, and I heard they had cheese fries,” she said. “Everybody loves cheese fries.”
Packaging senior Patrick Lariviere said he loved National Coney Island in Detroit, and he would be a regular customer of the restaurant in East Lansing, too.
“It’s probably safe to say they will do just fine here,” he said.
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