TOLEDO, Ohio — If you love hot dogs, Toledo is a pretty good place to be.
One of the top contenders in downtown Toledo, Coney Island, celebrated 100 years of service in April. Now, in a "meeting of the dogs" celebration, another local hot dog staple, Tony Packo's, will be honoring Coney Island's monumental achievement.
On Tuesday at 2 p.m., Frixos Stylianides, the owner of downtown Toledo’s Coney Island restaurant, will sign one of the iconic Tony Packo's hot dog buns.
The signed hot dog buns have become quite the Packo’s tradition. Actor Burt Reynolds was the first celebrity to sign a bun for the restaurant in 1972. Over the years, the restaurant has collected several local celebrity signatures for their walls, including actress Katie Holmes, professional football quarterbacks Bruce Gradkowski and DeShone Kizer, Toledo mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, sculptor George Carruth and football star Brent Williams among countless others; and on Tuesday afternoon, Stylianides will join the wall of greats.
The downtown Coney Island was originally founded in 1919 by Greek immigrant Sofoklis Constantinou, or as locals know him "Uncle Gus."
Uncle Gus's secret hot dog sauce recipe, along with his other Greek-inspired menu items became a staple in downtown Toledo. He eventually passed down the secret recipe to Stylianides, his great-nephew, in 1979. Stylianides continues to serve up the classic Coney Island cuisine to loyal customers, all cooked from the shop's original 100-year-old grill.
If you love a good dog and care to support two iconic local restaurants, you can mosey on down to watch Stylianides sign the Packo's bun in person at the Packo's at the Park location at 7 South Superior.