Coney Island Boardwalk: The iconic South Park Coney Island Boardwalk is a unique roadside diner near Baily, Colo. Folks love the quirky restaurant built to look like a giant hot dog. The hot dog is 42-feet long inside of a hot dog bun, which measures 35-feet long. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Taking Orders: We stopped for a late lunch at South Park Coney Island Boardwalk and were not surprised when we drove up to a full parking lot. The line seen here leads through the small diner where orders are taken and hot dogs made and delivered as you move through the line. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
We love to try out local diners and cafes as we travel throughout the back roads of America. They almost always serve a good meal and often offer a taste of the local culture as well. We often inquire about sites in the area while visiting small diners and usually get great and helpful responses.
While we have stopped at dozens of these establishments over the years, there is one just down the road from the Denver area that we have passed many times but never stopped. We have noticed a name change from simply “Coney Island” to its current name of “South Park Coney Island Boardwalk” along with some modifications to the structure as well.
This unique restaurant sits just outside of Bailey, Colo. on Highway 285, which is one of the major routes into Denver from the south and southwest. The place seems to have a full parking lot every time we pass by and last week we had to stop and check it out.
The name of this restaurant is almost as big as the restaurant itself. The restaurant is shaped like a hot dog. The huge hot dog is 42-feet long inside of a bun that is 35-feet long and it is covered with relish. The interior of the hot dog is limited in size as there is just room for the visitors to move through a line while they order. There is a table by each door and a small eating bar which faces out the front window. The entire interior is probably less than 500 square feet.
It turns out that this unique shaped diner has quite a history. It was originally built on West Colfax Avenue in Denver in the mid-1960s. However, the original owner closed the restaurant in 1969 and a new owner bought it in 1970 and chose to move the 18 ton hot dog to Allen Park, Colo. which is also on Highway 285 but several miles closer to Denver from the current location. The restaurant was moved again in 2006 from Allen Park to its current location just outside of Bailey, Colo.
The hot dog stand has also been featured on the TV series South Park where it was entitled “DikinBaus Hot Dogs” which probably led to its current name of South Park Coney Island Boardwalk.
To make up for the cozy interior is a large space to the side of the building for outdoor dining. That is all good except the elevation of the restaurant is about 8,000 feet so even some summer days can be cool outside.
The menu features hot dogs and brats grilled with a variety of toppings from simple to exotic. Each hot dog is prepared as you order with the specific toppings that you want. We found the hot dogs to be tasty and the lemonade to be cold. We planned ahead and got several napkins each and we used every one of them. You could say the hot dogs were finger licking good.
There was a gallery or gift shop next to the restaurant but it was not open on the day we visited.
This is one of those quirky roadside diners/attractions where the structure is often the best part of the stop. However, we found the South Park Coney Island Boardwalk was a fun stop, great 50s diner atmosphere inside, and great hot dogs to enjoy outside.
Visit https://www.restaurantji.com/co/bailey/coney-island-boardwalk-/.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Preparing the Hot Dogs: Two employees work nonstop to fill orders for patrons as they move through the line at the hot dog stand just outside Bailey, Colo. The flow of customers never slowed during our lunch break at the historic roadside eatery. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Grilling: There are a variety of hot dog choices at the South Park Coney Island Boardwalk near Bailey, Colo. The most popular hot dogs are always on the grill waiting to be scooped up for the next customer in line. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Outdoor Dining: The indoor seating is very limited due to size but the large outdoor dining area provides ample dining space for visitors. There are additional picnic tables in front of the restaurant near the creek that runs by the restaurant. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Photo Op: We saw several visitors stop and take photos in front of the unique hot dog shaped building that houses the South Park Coney Island Boardwalk near Bailey, Colo. There is no shortage of photos of this iconic hot dog stand. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com