Good news for Michigan natives whose lunch hours won’t accommodate a trip to Sunshine’s Motor City Cafe in south Tempe. The lunch-only eatery now will be open Saturdays starting this weekend.
Al and Michelle (aka “Sunshineâ€) Taylor, owners of Special Moments Catering and Tempe lakeside restaurant Pier 54, opened Sunshine’s near I-10 and Elliot in January 2012.
The menu features favorites from their home state like Lafayette-style coney dogs, Motor City medallions (their version of Detroit pasties), Better Made chips, Faygo Redpops, Vernors ginger ale, and Sander’s fudge.
The only problem for many has been its limited hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“We’ve had a lot of people say it’s really hard to get their family here,” Al Taylor says. “There’s been a cry to open Saturdays. We decided to give it a try.”
Saturday hours also will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., but only Michigan-inspired items (about 50% of the menu)Â will be available. They’re calling it “Coney Saturdays.”
If Saturdays are busy, Taylor says he’ll eventually offer the full menu.
Coney dogs, for the uninitiated, are natural-casing beef hot dogs topped with beanless chili, mustard, and onions. They originated in Detroit in the early 1900s.
How authentic is Sunshine’s version? Taylor says he and his wife recently took a trip to Detroit and visited legendary Lafayette Coney Island.
“Our coneys were spot on,” he says. “We once had a customer from Michigan who threatened to throw his coney against the wall if it wasn’t up to Lafayette standards. He ended up eating three of them and was in heaven.”
Earlier post: Sunshine’s Motor City Cafe offers favorite foods of Detroit
