Owners Of Coney Island In Tulsa Worried About Keeping Restaurant's Doors Open

As a downtown Tulsa restaurant celebrates 97 years of business, the owner is worried they’re in danger of closing.

Coney Island is a go-to lunch spot for many people who work and live downtown.

Steve Gregory has been eating here since the 90s, stopping by at least once a week for a fix.

"When I first came, they were over by Orpha's lounge is where I first started seeing them," Gregory said.

He said he's followed the restaurant to its different locations in Tulsa over the years, but the one thing that has never changed is the hospitality.

"We enjoy the coneys and the people who work here. They know who you are and talk to you and get to know you," Gregory said.

Georgia Tsilekas' father came to America from Greece, opening a couple of small stores across the country before settling in Tulsa and opening Coney Island in 1926.

She said it's great seeing customers like Gregory who come every week.

"They bring their children, their grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. It's been an experience," Tsilekas said.

Georgia said the community showed them a lot of love for their 97th anniversary, but she's worried about what the future will be like.

She said the lingering effects of the pandemic shutdown has really impacted the business.

"COVID did a lot of damage to a lot of restaurants, to a lot of companies. We went through that, and we're starting to get better, but it's a struggle. Everything has gone up," Tsilekas said.

She said they've been forced to increase menu prices to help off-set rising inflation.

"Meat prices have doubled in the past three or four months, things that you wouldn't think of like chips have gone up real high. That's a struggle and we're trying to deal with it. We're just hoping customers will keep coming and helping us out," Tsilekas said.

And helping their family business see 100 years of serving Tulsans.

"I would just love to see people come back down and be part of history," Gregory said.