Matt's Coney Island

Matt's Coney Island is a counter-service restaurant located at 2934 N 5th Street Highway in Reading, Pennsylvania. The business has operated since 1999, specializing in Coney Island style hot dogs and hamburgers prepared with a chili sauce recipe that the restaurant describes as being roughly 60 years old. In addition to its signature sandwiches, the kitchen turns out a rotating selection of fried sides and comfort food items that have become nearly as closely associated with the restaurant as the Coney dogs themselves.

The restaurant sits along the Fifth Street Highway corridor in Muhlenberg Township, just north of the Reading city line. That stretch of Route 222 Business is one of the busier commercial routes in Berks County, connecting Reading to Temple, Laureldale and the communities further north toward Hamburg and Kutztown. The location places Matt's within easy reach of commuters, local workers on lunch breaks, and residents of the surrounding townships.

The Coney Island Tradition

The term "Coney Island" in the context of hot dogs refers to a regional American style that has little to do with the Brooklyn amusement district beyond its name. The format traces back to Greek and Macedonian immigrants who opened lunch counters in cities across the industrial Northeast and Midwest in the early twentieth century, serving a frankfurter in a steamed bun topped with a seasoned meat sauce, chopped onions and mustard. Variations of the style took root in Detroit, Flint, Fort Wayne and a number of Pennsylvania cities, with each area developing its own interpretation of the sauce.

Pennsylvania has a long-standing Coney Island tradition of its own, particularly in Reading, Allentown, Scranton and the anthracite region, where hot dog shops carrying the Coney Island name have operated for generations. These establishments are generally small, inexpensive, fast-moving operations built around a short menu executed consistently. Matt's Coney Island continues in that tradition, with a chili sauce recipe that predates the restaurant itself by decades and gets applied to both the hot dogs and the hamburgers.

Menu and Specialties

The core of the menu is built around two items. The Coney Island hot dog is served in the traditional manner with the house chili sauce, and the Coney Island hamburger applies the same treatment to a griddled beef patty. Customers typically order these by the pair or by the half dozen, which is standard practice at Coney shops given the modest size of each sandwich.

Alongside the sandwiches, Matt's offers a lineup of sides that goes beyond the usual fast food standards. Items the business has highlighted include:

• Breaded pickles, sliced and fried to order
• Macaroni and cheese bites
• Corn nuggets, a Southern-influenced fried side made with creamed corn
• French fries

This assortment of fried appetizers has helped broaden the restaurant's appeal beyond customers who come strictly for Coney dogs. The sides work well for sharing and have made the restaurant a practical stop for groups ordering a spread rather than individual meals.

Recognition

In 2012, Matt's Coney Island received the blue ribbon award for Best Burger from Berks-Mont Newspapers. The Berks-Mont readers' choice program polls residents across Berks County and the surrounding region to identify favorite local businesses in dozens of categories, and the burger category draws entries from throughout an area with a dense population of diners, taverns, drive-ins and family restaurants. Winning the top spot in that category is a meaningful distinction in a county where hamburger culture runs deep, and the recognition speaks to the way the restaurant's Coney-style burger has been received by the local community.

Character of the Business

Matt's operates as a neighborhood hot dog shop rather than a full-service restaurant. The model is familiar to anyone who has spent time in Pennsylvania's Coney shops: a limited menu, quick turnaround, modest prices and an emphasis on repeat customers who know exactly what they want before they walk in. Orders for takeout make up a substantial share of the business, and the small-format sandwiches travel well, which suits customers picking up food for a family dinner or bringing lunch back to a job site.

Longevity matters in this category. A hot dog shop that has operated in the same market for more than two decades has done so by keeping its product consistent, because customers of Coney shops are specific about what they expect. The continued use of a decades-old sauce recipe is central to that consistency, and it is the element the business most frequently points to when describing what sets it apart from generic fast food alternatives along the same highway.

Location and Access

The restaurant's North Fifth Street Highway address puts it on a main north-south artery with ample traffic in both directions. Parking is available on site, which is a practical consideration along a corridor where some older storefronts have limited access. The surrounding area includes a mix of retail plazas, auto dealerships, service businesses and residential neighborhoods, and the restaurant draws from all of them.

Berks County residents traveling between Reading and the northern townships pass directly by the location, and the restaurant is a short drive from downtown Reading, Muhlenberg Township, Laureldale, Temple and Hyde Park. Visitors coming to the area for events at the Santander Arena, the Reading Public Museum or the many outdoor attractions around Blue Marsh Lake and Mount Penn can reach the restaurant within a few minutes of leaving the city center.

Practical Information

• Address: 2934 N 5th Street Highway, Reading, Pennsylvania 19605
• Phone: (610) 914-1844
• In business since 1999
• Specialties: Coney Island hot dogs and hamburgers, breaded pickles, macaroni and cheese bites, corn nuggets, French fries
• Award: Berks-Mont "Best Burger" blue ribbon, 2012

Customers are encouraged to call ahead for current hours, menu availability and large order arrangements, particularly during holidays or at times of year when hours may vary. Phone orders are a common way to handle larger pickups, since the kitchen prepares items to order and advance notice helps reduce wait times during busy lunch and dinner periods.

Summary

Matt's Coney Island represents a specific and enduring piece of Pennsylvania food culture: the independent Coney shop built around a guarded sauce recipe, a tight menu and decades of repeat customers. For visitors unfamiliar with the regional style, it offers an accessible introduction. For Berks County residents who grew up on Coney dogs, it continues to serve the version that has kept the parking lot full on North Fifth Street Highway since 1999.