WORCESTER – It’s hard to miss the large “Coney Island Hot Dogs” neon sign hanging over the sidewalk of Southbridge Street; step inside and it’s even harder not to feel the history throughout the 106-year-old Worcester landmark.
Carved into the wooden booths are the names of previous diners, an old-fashioned jukebox lightly plays in the background and hungry patrons from all walks of life chow down on delicious dogs.
The restaurant’s history dates back to 1918, when Catherine and George Tsagarelis first opened a small lunch counter. Kathryn Tsandikos, the granddaughter of George and Catherine, now runs the business and can be found often working behind the counter, dishing out the “secret chili sauce” in her grandmother’s footsteps.
“No matter who came in — politicians, presidents of banks, the homeless — she treated everyone the same,” Tsandikos said. “During the Depression they would give away hot dogs to boys from the Boys Club who didn’t have a nickel to buy a hot dog. People remember that.”