Coneys are a staple here in East Lansing and throughout Michigan. Determined to understand how so many diner joints survive in a fierce marketplace, @katiekalass, @bigtee724, @riannamiddleton, @jingqiangniu and I took a look at three of the ones located here in East Lansing.

Most Coneys feature reasonably priced food and a strong sense of community. While some have slightly different menu offerings one staple at all of them is the coney dog. Each restaurant has a classic style coney as well as other variations between them.

The thing that makes one stand out from another is usually the people and the atmosphere as most of the menu items are similar between the coneys. For example, Sparty’s Coney focuses more on their breakfast rather than the traditional coney dog.

Overall, there were more commonalities than differences in the three Coneys we sampled. It’s our belief that competition focuses mainly on price, emotional preference and location.