Leo's Coney Island Closes, Effective Today

Leo's Coney Island, the popular Detroit area franchise that found a home in Chicago in February 2010, closed today. The restaurant was known for its Detroit Coney Island dogs (chili dogs), Greek salads and other Greek diner specialties. This location was the first location out of the state of Michigan.

"It came a little out left field for us, but as you know the restaurant business is difficult at best," said co-owner Jeremy Stolberg about the closing. "We made the difficult decision last night to do this. It was a good business, but wasn't quite where we wanted it to be. As a franchise, we had some issues with our franchisor and it had kind of run its course in that respect. It's difficult."

Leo's announced the closing this morning on their website and Facebook page and felt bad giving little notice to their avid customers. "The neighborhood couldn't have been better to us. Our customer base—they were like fans, they were awesome," said Stolberg. "Our clients were so supportive of us. People are sad. A lot of people were passionate about it. It's tough."