New Virginia Coney Island Owners Part of Jackson’s Coney Dog Lore

When I first read in MLive that Ted and Pam Christoff had purchased Virginia Coney Island in Jackson, Michigan, I knew it was in good hands immediately. Why? According to local lore, the Todoroffs and Christoffs are the founding families of Coney dogs, not just in Jackson or Michigan but also in America.

RELATED: Jackson, Michigan's Got the Real 'Coney Dog' (Sorry Detroit)

When I asked Ted why they returned to the original family business, he said it was about preserving legacies.

Jackson, Michigan: Birthplace of the Coney Dog? Depends On What You Call a Coney

As Ted Christoff tells the tale, which has been handed down from generation to generation, George Todoroff, who had made at least one prior visit to Jackson, decided to move his family to Michigan from Macedonia and opened Jackson Coney Island in 1914. Todoroff had invited his cousin and Ted Christoff's grandfather, Atanas Christoff, to join him in the family venture.

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Having immigrated from overseas, many Macedonian and Greek immigrants were served what Ted describes as "tubular meat, served on a bun with mustard" on Coney Island when they got off the boat in New York. George Todoroff took this idea further by inventing a coney sauce whose list of ingredients included and still does today, beef hearts. This is why Jackson Coney Island claims to be the "birthplace of the Coney dog."

Good Food is a Family Tradition

As time passed, Jackson Coney Island changed hands, leaving the family with many different owners. It was eventually purchased 100 years after it was first opened by Dave Griffus, who has owned it since 2014. Ted doesn't know the exact date it was opened, but he did share that Virginia Coney Island was purchased and operated by his uncle Van Christoff in the 1950s.

RELATED: Gilberts Steak House: Inside a Vacant Jackson, Michigan Landmark

To say that Coney dogs are a part of Christoff's DNA would be an accurate statement, but the same could be said about Jackson, Michigan, as a whole. Sure, Jackson's the home of the Ritz Cracker recipe the world has come to love, but it's underappreciated for its contributions to hot dogs.

I was raised on Jackson, Michigan's coney dogs, and I can tell you with zero doubt that they are the BEST coney dogs on the planet. If you were raised in Detroit, you probably think the first name in Coney dogs or Islands is either "Lafayette" or "American," but those are chili dogs. I know. They might call it a coney dog, but if all you do is put chili on a hotdog, it's a chili dog. I will die on this hill even if Smithsonian Magazine claims Detroit is "Coney dog's ground zero."

Congratulations to Ted and Pam on continuing the legacy for your family and preserving a piece of Jackson, Michigan, and Coney dog history. As for the menu and recipe, they won't be making any changes, but they have expanded the hours, staying open later and opening earlier.

If the Christoff name rings a bell, Pam and Ted own and operate Christoff and Sons Floor Covering in Jackson. Yes. I asked. And yes. Virginia Coney Island will get new flooring soon.

Oh, and can you do something about the parking at Virginia Coney Island? Please?