MANSFIELD — Dan Lew believes in a few great things when it comes to success in the culinary business — great people, great timing and great food.
All of that is coming together for the Mansfield restaurateur and entrepreneur to purchase the historic Coney Island Diner business on North Main Street in the heart of the downtown.
It’s a business transaction still being finalized with Lew taking over from Aubrey Caugherty and her husband, Greg, in early July. The couple, which took over the business in 2022, announced in January their intention to sell.
“The biggest thing is I’ve got great people. Really great people,” Lew said Wednesday morning. “Not only are they great people, but they’re competent, they’re experienced and they’re knowledgeable.
“That’s the biggest key,” said Lew, owner of Dan Lew Exchange, located just a few blocks north on Main Street.
The purchase adds more to a growing busy plate for Lew, who has also agreed to be a part of the culinary effort with a revived downtown hotel project on Park Avenue West.
He said the Coney Island Diner is a good fit for his work.
“It just kind of goes with the (Gravity Ohio) pillar … culinary incubation. But I think the biggest draw there is the nostalgia, the history.
“It’s hard to pass up with all the momentum of downtown and the whole movement. It just seemed to be not only the right thing to do, to maintain and sustain that nostalgia, but also everything that’s going on with with the community and keeping everything local,” Lew said.
Aubrey Caugherty said she is glad the business is remaining in local hands.
“I’m just glad that Dan’s taking it over. I think once this is all done, he’ll thrive with it … and he’s really good at what he does,” Caugherty said Wednesday.
Caugherty and her husband purchased the business in 2022 from Jim and Cathy Smith, who operated the Coney Island Diner for more than 30 years.
“I really wanted somebody in town that already knows (the business). And Dan does so much for the city anyway, so I’m really excited for him,” said Caugherty, who said she has accepted a factory position with a set schedule that will allow her to spend time with her grandchild when the baby arrives.
The Coney Island Diner is thought to be the oldest continuously operating restaurant in downtown Mansfield. It was founded by a Greek immigrant who went by an Americanized name — John George.
George started off selling his famous coney sauce with crackers to factory workers. Around 1919, he opened Coney Island in a small, ten-foot wide building with just a counter and stools, serving a simple menu of coneys, pie and chili.
George moved his business to Coney Island’s current location in 1936.
The diner, which has been open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., will see expanded hours of operation once Lew takes over.
“Ideally, it’s open seven days a week … breakfast, lunch, dinner. That’s ideally, but at this point, I don’t know how practical that is. But we’re going to test the waters,” he said.
With a diner that seats 58, including the booths, table and counter, expanding the hours is necessary, Lew said.
“I think the biggest thing is you have to be open more hours with the seating capacity. There’s not a ton of seats there.
The long-time restaurant owner, who said he had the recipe for the original coney sauce from 1936, also has plans for a revised menu.
Some things, he said, will not change.
“Obviously, you have to keep the staples. You have got to keep the coney sauce and the the pea salad. Those things you have to keep as part of the nostalgia.
“But I want to bring in some new items as well, something more for the times … the changing demographics …and challenge some palates here and there,” Lew said. “We want to make it exciting again.”
Lew said he wants to keep the nostalgia of the interior, while updating it at the same time.
“I’d like to add a lot more. I’ve already had a couple of people reach out to me because they have things that they would love to donate and put up.
“I reached out to my good friend, (artist) Allison Pence, once again and she’s kind of concocting something to freshen it up,” Lew said.
With just a few months of construction left on a $20 million Main Street Corridor Improvement project, Lew said the timing is perfect.
“There’s that momentum. I still think there’s going to be a little bit of time to get some traction, once it’s all said and done.
“But I am all about timing. Timing is everything,” Lew said.
Lew said Aubrey and Caugherty reached out to him about a year ago.
“I actually made an offer last year and they didn’t take it. I think in reality, that’s not what they want for their lifestyle,” he said in terms of the restaurant business.
“It’s consuming, obviously, especially for people that haven’t been in the business. The amount of effort that goes into it versus sales, it’s a tough world,” Lew said.
