George’s Coney Island is well-known as a Grove City staple, and that’s due in part to its long history in and out of the city. In fact, it was 75 years ago that central Ohio’s west side got its first taste of George’s beloved family recipe.
George Petropoulos opened George’s Coney Island on West Broad Street in 1948 and it quickly became a hit.
The unassuming and family-oriented mom-and-pop shop is currently owned by Dawn Mavromatis, who hopes that everyone who walks through the door feels like a part of the family.
The restaurant started as a full-service kitchen with crowds lined up for onion rings, but the menu has changed quite a bit to fit customers’ needs. Today, customers particularly love the thick-cut fried bologna sandwiches and coney dogs.
“The No. 1 sellers are the coneys, of course, because we do make our own homemade coney sauce,” says Mavromatis. “It’s an all-meat sauce with the same spices that George Petropoulos used in 1948, and customers still ask, ‘What do you put in that sauce?’ because it’s so addictive.”
The coney dogs come with homemade sauce, mustard and onions, with other toppings available like cheese, coleslaw, relish and sauerkraut. However, the crew is ready to prepare its specialty however you like with whatever toppings you crave.
Another favorite through the decades has been the chili mac – which contains spaghetti, homemade coney sauce and cheese – all with a side of garlic bread.
“We are just blessed because George’s family is our extended family,” Mavromatis says. “I have watched three generations now come through. From the customers at Broad Street when they
were younger raising their kids, and now their kids are coming in here grown up with their children, just a lot of good memories.”
In 1972, Petropoulos sold the company to Nick Mavromatis, who was his friend and Dawn’s father-in-law.
“My husband, Michael, and I have been running it since 2004, once we first moved from the original location on West Broad to Georgesville Road,” Mavromatis says. “Unfortunately, my husband passed away in 2015 and Nick passed away in 2020.”
Since opening on West Broad Street in Columbus, the coney shop has relocated three times before landing on Old Stringtown Road. Since the move, Grove City has welcomed George’s and the restaurant fits well with the local restaurant scene.
“The difference for me out here in Grove City is its small community, everybody wants to help one another, they stay local. That’s what the community here is about,” Mavromatis says.
While many of today’s customers reside in Grove City, tenured regulars still remember the original location and keep coming back for more to this day.
“People in their 80s and 90s are still coming in because, you know, they just still crave it,” Mavromatis says. “One customer just turned 97 years old, and she still comes in. Her granddaughter brings her in every month because she and her husband still crave that.”
The 97-year-old customer, Mary Swartz, and her husband Bill made George’s coneys a family tradition for five generations. With part of their family working at the nearby General Motors plants, they would frequent the diner multiple times a week with huge orders. Even now, Mary orders a coney with a side of fries every time she comes in.
The new generation of customers in Grove City brings excitement to the coney shop, as word of mouth has made this a community favorite.
“It’s great having the new little ones come in, 4 and 5 years old, telling their parents, ‘I want to go to George’s to have a hot dog, I don’t want to go to McDonald’s,’” Mavromatis says.
Grady Libertini is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
