‘The Tradition of It All’: Some Things Never Change At Coney Island

The landscape of downtown Fort Wayne has grown significantly in recent decades, but inside 131 W. Main Street, not much has changed in the last century.

With chairs from the 1910s, tables from the 1920s, a working cooler from 1928, and an old-fashioned waiter-to-kitchen communication method (yelling orders across the restaurant), Coney Island remains resistant to change.

“We fight change as much as we can,” says Co-owner Jimmy Todoran. “That comes with my personality, and it also comes with the restaurant – the tradition of it all.

“People that move out of town yearn for the places from their childhood, so if they’re coming from out of town, from Florida or Arizona, to visit mom and dad on Thanksgiving, they want to wait in line – no matter what,” he continues. “You know, God bless them that they do. We just can’t thank them enough for their loyalty.” 

That unwavering commitment to its origins creates an unparalleled nostalgic experience, one that is a tradition for many, especially around the holidays. That nostalgia and loyalty create a large influx of business each year for Coney Island. On a typical day, Coney Island sells around 2,000 hot dogs, but he estimates that number doubles during the holiday season and then triples on special occasions, like the Night of Lights and Christmas Eve. 

“You talk about, ‘Oh my grandparents would come here for this, and that makes it worth the line, the wait.’ It makes it the top choice for people even when there are so many other options,” says Todoran, who has been working at Coney Island since he was 15, starting as a dishwasher in 1987. Much like visiting the restaurant is a tradition for many families in the Fort, working at Coney Island is a family affair for Todoran.

“My dad started here in 1967,” he says. “He got my mother’s brothers in. My mom had 11 brothers – nine of them worked here. It was a long tradition of family that worked here.”

In 2013, Todoran bought half of the company, taking on the role of caretaker for Coney Island alongside Kathy Choka, whose grandfather and father led the restaurant from 1916-1961 and from 1961 until the early 1990s, respectively. 

Despite tripling the number of hot dogs sold on an average day, the restaurant’s staffing, operations and workflow don’t change much on those busy holidays. They triple the amount of onions they prepare in the mornings – going from 75 pounds for an average day to 150 pounds. With limited space inside, Coney Island typically only has 10 employees working on the busy days, which is only a slight increase from its normal daily staff of seven.

He notes that these busy holidays are the most requested days to work for his staff. 

“Everybody’s so excited at that time of year. It’s like the number one requested time to work is the Night of Lights.” Todoran explains. “You would think people would want to be home with their family or go see it themselves, but no, they want to work. It’s the number one request, ‘I want to work, and I want to work a double.’”

Todoran says the systems in place are streamlined, so busy days are not a big undertaking.

For new and returning holiday customers, who brave the line and the weather, he offers this: “Expect organized chaos. It’s hustling, bustling, and if you just relax and take it in, you’ll realize that it’s a work of art in motion. You’ll see how they do it, and it’s really impressive.”

Even though it’s “a work of art in motion” by his account, Todoran concedes that the pressure of pulling it off year after year is something that weighs on him and his team throughout the year.

“We’re always thinking about it,” Todoran says of the holiday’s busy season. “For us, the whole year, it’s in the back of our minds – it’s coming. It truly is like waiting on Christmas, but you never quite know what is going to be thrown at you.”

For example, earlier this year, he heard whispers of a potential supply issue for the glass bottles of Coca-Cola they serve. Knowing it could disrupt the experience that restaurant patrons expect from Coney Island, he ordered “pallets and pallets” of Coca-Cola in advance, storing them in a nearby warehouse, to avoid any last-minute delays.

“It goes hand-in-hand with people’s traditions,” he says of the menu. 

While Todoran fights against any major changes at the historic restaurant, he admits they have accepted a few new developments in recent years to make a difference or create a better experience for guests.

This year, they raffled off a VIP experience for Night of Lights with K105. With a $20 donation to pancreatic cancer research, you could skip the line and win food for up to six people at a reserved table at Coney Island on Night of Lights.

About eight years ago, Coney Island opened a gift shop next door to its dining room to sell shirts, gift certificates and other hot dog-themed items. 

“That was born out of Christmas congestion, I guess,” Todoran explains. “[Staff is] trying to wait on tables, so it became very hard to write gift certificates. And we just have the old-fashioned gift certificates, so we’d have one person try to write the gift certificate. Then, people said they wanted shirts, but they wanted more options of shirts.”

When the insurance company next door retired, he says they opted to turn it into an office and merch store, which has been very well received by customers.

“The goal was to ease [the staff] up so they can focus on number one – hot dogs, which is what we’re all about.”