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In mid-January 2019 the Winter finally hit and froze the Mitten State. Now Mike and Bone know there ain't no better way to warm up than a good Coney dog! It just so happened that Mike was on the east side of the State with a couple hours to kill so he and the Bone (who drove up from Baserkley) decided to check off the two Flint entries of the Top Ten List of Michigan.

 

First stop was the old Detroit Freep Writer Bob Talbert's favorite in the State, Angelos of Flint! The birthplace of Flint “Dry Chili”  has a long and storied history in Flint.  The original Angelo, Vangel T. Nicoloff, Isn’t even the Angelo most people remember. Angelo Branoff is the one who people likely remember. Vangel T. “Angelo” Nicoloff, the restaurant’s namesake, was born in Boufi, Macedonia, in 1912 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1928 at the age of 16 to join his father, Anthony Nicoloff, who owned the San Juan Chili Parlor in Flint from 1927 – 1945. Angelo also worked for Simion Brayan at the actual original Flint Coney Island for a time before founding Angelo’s on Davison Rd. in 1949, 25 years after Brayan first opened his restaurant. Angelo passed away in 1969, so most people today who claim to have known him likely never met him.  

In November 2017 after more than three years since his first listing Angelo’s Coney Island as being for sale, it was reported that Neil Helmkay placed the the original Davison Rd. location under a lease-to-own option to Tim and Paula Stanek, owners of the nearby Chilly’s Bar. But unfortunately on December 28, 2018, Tim Stanek confirmed to the Flint Journal that the location had closed during the previous week. Calling the closing “A sad day for tradition”, Stanek stated “It’s sad what’s happening to the east side. It’s getting worse. It’s not getting better. If something doesn’t happen soon, we certainly won’t be the last (business to close) over there.” As the Grand Blanc Rd. Angelo’s location in Mundy Township was still open, it wasn’t the complete demise of the operation.

So sadly, the Boys drove to the Grand Blanc location right off of US-23 and I-75 to sample the increasingly rare dry chilli dogs ! Getting there and ordering, the Boys kibitzed with the Waitress about their Hot Dog exploits to the point that she thought the boys were food critics.  So when the coney's came out, so did the Owner!!

 

The original and now closed Angelo's Flint!

What did the Boys think? Dam good dogs! The "dry chili" was 10 times better than the crap they had in Jackson!!! Great coney's and great service.

Afterwards, the Boys decided to pay tribute ( and gas!!) to the original Angelo's on Davidson Road in Flint.