Five cities. Two counties. This first week of 2026 The Pine Belt News looks back at some of the top events from 2025, beginning with this story originally published February 27, 2025
Coney Island Café, a staple of downtown Hattiesburg’s culinary scene, will close its doors for the final time on Feb. 28. The restaurant cites rising food costs and other variables as the main contributors to the decision. The diner, with a history nearly as old as Hattiesburg itself, started with humble beginnings of the American Dream.
When Arthur Fokakis, a Greek immigrant, began selling produce from a pushcart by the railroad tracks on Main Street in 1923, he didn’t allow the language barrier nor the rising popularity of local grocery stores to slow him down. He eventually saved enough to purchase the lot and build a permanent fruit stand which would transform into a short-order café.
Coney Island continued to flourish despite the uncertainty of the Great Depression and second World War. After Arthur’s sons, Nick and Junior, returned to Hattiesburg from their own tours overseas in World War II, they took over the café in 1945.
The second Fokakis generation completely renovated the café in the 1950s, adding much-needed space, kitchen equipment and installing air conditioning. The café quietly earned itself the reputation for great service, hospitality, the best hangout for local high school students and weary travelers from the train station.
After Nick’s retirement in 1976, Junior with the help of his wife, Vickie, ran the diner well into the 1980s. After working for his parents throughout his life, Junior’s son Billy would become the third generation of the Fokakis family to run the café in 1984.
Billy’s unwavering dedication to the family business remained a constant throughout 33 years of running Coney Island. He never missed a day of work, arriving before sunrise every day. In Dec. of 2017, Billy fell ill and was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. That’s when Hattiesburg rallied to support their beloved Coney Island Café and the Fokakis family. With the help of Robert St. John, a local restauranteur, Billy’s children, BJ and Kayla raised money via GoFundMe and fundraisers through the café for Billy’s medical expenses. Despite raising tens of thousands of dollars, Billy unfortunately lost his battle with cancer a few weeks later.
For the first time in nearly 100 years, the café’s future looked uncertain. BJ and Kayla had built goals and lives of their own and had little experience working at the café or running a business. Billy even suggested selling the business in the final weeks of his illness.
Unwilling to accept defeat, the fourth generation of the Fokakis family decided to see the restaurant through its 100-year anniversary, and they accomplished that goal. From Prohibition to the Great Depression, World War II to Freedom Summer, Sep. 11 to Hurricane Katrina and through a global pandemic in 2020, Coney Island Café withstood the test of time and remained a pillar in Hattiesburg’s incredible story. The end of Coney Island Café marks the end of an era, and the Hub City will forever remember the legacy left by the Fokakis family.
