Austin, who picked up his cooking habits from his mother and grandmother, now will be cooking for hungry Spartans.

Last Friday, Austin officially opened the doors to Spartan Coney, a hot dog restaurant, located at 551 1/2 E. Grand River Ave. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. everyday, but Austin said he still is working out an official schedule.

The location is just big enough for a cook, a few customers and the basic amenities to run a hot dog stand.

Planning for Spartan Coney began in late 2012 after Austin and the franchise owner for Moe’s Southwest Grill found there was storage space leftover in a corner of the store. Spartan Coney is in no way affiliated with Moe’s, said Austin, also the general manager of Moe’s.

“(The owner and I) were discussing what to do here, and I said, ‘Let’s see — pizza or hot dogs?’” he said.

Austin, who has been in the food industry for more than 20 years, decided to go with hot dogs because of his cooking specialty — his homemade chili.

“I told my boss, the franchise owner, that I could make chili,” Austin said. “He lit up like a firecracker.”

Austin said what sets Spartan Coney apart from other coney dog restaurants is the variety of different hot dogs on the menu and its lack of breakfast food.

He settled the menu by researching different styles of hot dogs from around the country and taste testing. Austin particularly is excited for customers to try his Jamaican Dog, made with Jamaican relish.

In addition to the Jamaican Dog, Austin has 28 items on the menu and a few other signature items up his sleeve, such as the Greek Dog, which he said is similar to a Greek salad without the lettuce.

Austin also plans on pushing healthier styles of hot dogs for customers.

“I’m trying to push toward the healthy front of hot dogs,” Austin said. “I’m looking for turkey dogs, chicken dogs, vegan dogs. … Just trying to veer it a totally different way.”

Austin said he hopes to see Spartan Coney continue to grow so that he can move the location.