Food / Business & brands
Gust and Bill Keros
· restaurateurs, founders of American Coney Island and Lafayette Coney Island
Greek immigrant brothers behind Detroit's two most famous Coney Island diners, side by side on Lafayette Boulevard.
- Also known as
- Constantine 'Gust' Keros · William 'Bill' Keros · Keros brothers
- Detroit years
- 1910s–
- Field
- Food, Business & brands
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Constantine 'Gust' Keros and William 'Bill' Keros were former sheepherders from the Greek village of Dara who came to Detroit and began selling hot dogs topped with chili, mustard and onions to autoworkers and downtown workers. Their two diners, American Coney Island and Lafayette Coney Island, stand in adjoining buildings on Lafayette Boulevard and are often called ground zero of the Detroit Coney dog. Each claims to be the original: American Coney dates itself to 1917 and Lafayette to 1914, though city directories studied by historians suggest the brothers opened Lafayette together in 1923 and Gust opened American in 1936 after a falling-out. American Coney has stayed in the Keros family, while their nephews Peter and Leo Stassinopoulos later founded the Leo's Coney Island chain. The friendly rivalry has made the corner a stop for visitors, TV food shows and late-night crowds.
Highlights
- American Coney Island claims a 1917 founding; Lafayette Coney Island claims 1914
- Historians date Lafayette to 1923 and American to 1936
- Their nephews founded the Leo's Coney Island chain
- The two diners stand side by side at 114 and 118 W Lafayette Blvd
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Founded · 1917 or 1936–present
American Coney Island
Gust Keros's diner, still run by the Keros family; its claimed 1917 founding is disputed by historians.
Founded · 1914 or 1923–present
Lafayette Coney Island
The neighboring diner associated with Bill Keros; its claimed 1914 founding is also disputed.