The rivalry between American Coney Island and Lafayette Coney Island is the stuff of Detroit legends. As the story goes, brothers Bill and Gust Keros opened American Coney Island on downtown Detroit’s Michigan Avenue in 1919. Years later the brothers had a falling out. In 1936 Bill decided to open Lafayette Coney Island, right next door to Gust’s American Coney Island. The pair have been battling for Detroit’s coney dog dominance ever since. Today, American Coney Island remains a family-owned institution while Bill’s employee’s now operate Lafayette Coney Island.
