New restaurant in Midland features coney dogs and ice cream

Midland has a new restaurant to satisfy your cravings for coney dogs, and satisfy your sweet tooth. Andy & Nathan’s U.S. Coney & Cone, which opened in early January, has already become a hot-spot for local diners. The brick and mortar restaurant serves coney dogs, burgers, sandwiches, salads, ice cream, shakes, malts, sundaes, floats, and flurries. 

Andy Widmer, a Chicago native, moved to the Midland area about 11 years ago, and opened up local business, Great Gifts, Arts, Antiques, and Handmades with his wife, Angie Klapish-Widmer. This food and beverage venture, however, was a longtime dream. 

Andy & Nathan's U.S. Coney and Cone is located at the corner of S. Saginaw and Dartmouth in Midland's Center City.
“For about the last 20 years, on the side, I did some catering,” Andy Widmer says. “I’ve always been interested in owning a restaurant and wanted to do this since I was a teenager.”

The space was previously a smokehouse, and became available in August, when Widmer started looking into the property and then made the decision to move forward. The space received a fresh makeover from late September through November, when they redid the floor and brightened up the walls with stencils hand painted by Angie.
"On a daily rotation we have three different flavors of Dole Whip, a fruity soft-serve."
Since officially opening in January, the restaurant has received a lot of support from the Midland community. “My wife came up with this little slogan, we have food that makes you happy,” Widmer says. ”Hopefully, we’ll be able to provide Midland with great food and a happy, inviting atmosphere. I’m excited that we’re open and that we’re here. It’s been absolutely awesome for the last few months, it’s been better than I ever could have imagined, honestly.”

Widmer also hopes the business can give back to the community as well. 20% of the proceeds from menu items like The Hottest Coney Dog and Hottest Ghost Pepper Burger will be donated to local organizations and charities, like the Midland Fire Department.

Popular menu items include burgers, coney dogs, and ice cream, according to Widmer.  “We have three ice cream machines, serving vanilla, chocolate, and twist. On a daily rotation we have three different flavors of Dole Whip, a fruity soft-serve,” he says. “One of the newer menu items is the Mushroom Swiss Burger, which is very popular.” They make their coney sauce from scratch. The hamburgers are made from fresh ground beef. The restaurant has dine-in seating for 48 people. 

Dining room seats 48.
Andy & Nathan’s U.S. Coney & Cone is located at 601 S. Saginaw Road, right next door to McCreadie Sales. Current hours are Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Extended summer hours are projected to be seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In the future, the restaurant will add online ordering and utilize their drive-thru.

 
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Sarah Spohn is a Lansing native, but every day finds a new interesting person, place, or thing in towns all over Michigan, leaving her truly smitten with the mitten. She received her degrees in journalism and professional communications and provides coverage for various publications locally, regionally, and nationally — writing stories on small businesses, arts and culture, dining, community, and anything Michigan-made. You can find her in a record shop, a local concert, or eating one too many desserts at a bakery. If by chance, she’s not at any of those places, you can contact her at sarahspohn.news@gmail.com.