Mansfield, Ohio – Coney Island is associated with New York City, as is the Coney Dog, which is said to have originated there but also claimed by restaurants elsewhere and it’s still on the menu at Coney Island Diner – in Mansfield, Ohio.

Coney Island variations were developed by immigrants from what is now Greece and North Macedonia in the early 1900s, many fleeing the Balkan Wars, who entered the United States through Ellis Island in New York City.

It’s irresistible, essentially a big hot dog covered with cheese, onions and a savory meat sauce that makes a filling and inexpensive meal, one of the reasons it’s still a favorite after all these years.

The Ohio diner has been at the same location since 1936 and while ownership changed hands in July, 2022, “the business continues to function, much to the delight of the downtown lunch crowd,” reported The Richland Source.

It traces its beginnings though to 1919 in a narrow little diner space, now long gone and the site of a municipal parking lot. Ioanius Georgeopolus opened the original Coney there, learning English and changing his name to John George, but the creation’s the same.