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Get A Dog And A Sweet Treat

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By LIZ BLEAU, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 8, 2007

APOLLO BEACH - It took Michelle Fox awhile to figure out what she was going to do after her husband, Paul, died, leaving her with five children to raise.

But it came to her that she wanted to operate a hot dog and ice cream stand as she had done with her family for years; first with her parents, who had been in the food business, and then later she and her husband operated a hot dog shop in Michigan during the summers.

Last month, she opened Coney's and Cream at the Shoppes at Apollo Beach along Apollo Beach Boulevard.

The store offers Coney dogs, an all-beef hot dog topped with a family-recipe chili, and ice cream sundaes and cones.

"It's not the type of chili you eat out of bowl, with beans in it," Fox said. "It is mostly beef."

Fox, who went to East Bay High School, said she opened the eatery in large part for her children.

"When they lost their dad, they lost a lot of their life," she said. "They enjoyed going north in the summers; they all had a job in the shop in Michigan. I wanted my kids to have that family business experience."

The children - Shea, 22; Terah, 18; Brean, 14; Tristan, 8; and Makenna, 6 - all help out at Coney's and Cream.

"Even my younger ones help by getting out the whipped cream and a cherry when someone orders a sundae or the paper wraps for the hot dogs," she said.

She has been busy getting the word out about her shop, which she said is a convenient stop for lunch.

Not everyone knows what a Coney dog is, she said, because each area of the country seems to have its own version of a hot dog.

"But once I get someone here to try one, they'll be back," she said.

CONEY'S AND CREAM

OWNER: Michelle Fox
WHERE: 205 Apollo Beach Blvd., Suite 101

HOURS: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 pm. Friday and Saturday

INFORMATION: (813) 645-6567

Reporter Liz Bleau can be reached at (813) 865-1557 or lbleau@tampatrib.com.

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