About Us: The Tasty Basics

National Coney Island has been in business since 1965 and currently owns and operates 20 restaurants in Southeastern Michigan. The corporate headquarters are located in Roseville, Michigan, home of the original location! 

Every National Coney Island restaurant features a menu filled with great-tasting, All-American classics, including traditional Detroit-style Coney Island hot dogs, our world famous chili, fresh salads, premium Angus burgers, delicious desserts like Sanders hot fudge sundaes and breakfast served anytime. 

Our Mission: Fast. Fresh. Friendly.

We offer a unique dining experience by combining extremely fast and friendly service with fresh, quality food at affordable prices—all in a fun family atmosphere.

Our History: It All Began With An Idea

National Coney Island was founded by James Giftos in 1965, when he opened his first store at the Macomb Mall in Roseville, Michigan. It was a small and simple store that served a limited menu of Coney Island hot dogs, Coney Island-style loose hamburgers, a few sandwiches, potato chips and soda pop. There was seating for about 40 patrons, and the bill of fare was displayed on hand-painted wooden menu boards that advertised 35-cent hot dogs.

Yet even back then, National Coney Island began establishing the principles that have been the driving force behind its success to this very day: Fast and friendly service and food freshness and quality.

The success of that first store allowed Mr. Giftos to open two additional stores in St. Clair Shores (1969) and Detroit (1971). These stores were very similar to the Macomb Mall store in design and operation. Several years later, Mr. Giftos had the idea to expand the menu, make his restaurants more family oriented and upgrade the design and decor to set National Coney Island apart from other similar restaurants in the area. The result: A brighter, more enjoyable and family-fun atmosphere for his patrons.

Following this new direction, National Coney Island saw big expansion in the mid-1980's to mid-1990's, when it more than tripled in size to 11 locations. Some offered beer and wine service, others had drive-thru windows and all were supported by a very loyal and hard-working staff that were driven by those guiding tenets that started it all—and continue to make National Coney Island a success today.