FALL RIVER Breakfast, lunch or dinner, Rogers Coney Island is geared up to welcome customers back to the newly updated restaurant.

The wall separating the front and back dining areas is gone and a door on the south side of the building near where the wall was located has been eliminated, making for one long spacious dining area. There are entirely new finishes on the walls and floors and in one area, booths were eliminated in favor of tables that can be spaced further apart. The counter seating is gone, at least for now as part of an effort to keep staff and diners safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The mural on the back wall thats been a favorite sight for diners over the years is still in place, but it got a nice framing in the update. The mural depicts Rita and John Champagne, who were the second owners of the restaurant that has been a part of the community for decades.

Theres something new just about everywhere one looks in the longtime city favorite hot dog spot and diner. And the updates arent just cosmetic. There are also entirely new measures in place to keep its customers safe from the spread of COVID-19 including a new HEPA air filtration system. When the air circulates back into the system it moves through a series of UV lights to clean it before it comes back into the restaurant. Additionally theres a new hand-washing station for servers with hand sanitizer to use after cleaning their hands. The bathroom is now touch-free and the blower to dry hands also has a UV light to kill germs.

In addition to a brass handle on the bathroom door, brass bands have been added to the sides of tables because brass contains copper, which reportedly has anti-bacterial properties. After servers wipe down the tables they will also pass a UV wand over the table and at night after the restaurant closes, an electrostatic fogging machine comes on to kill bacteria.

Employees temperatures will also be tested twice a day and they also plan to take phone numbers for contact tracing for larger parties.

Owner Ashley Cabral, who started working at the restaurant as a server while she was in high school in 2006, said shes looking forward to seeing customers return to the newly refurbished restaurant. The updates, she said, are intended to assure their customers that theyre doing everything they can to keep them safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Open from 4:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and Sundays 4:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.,

Cabral said the most popular items are hot dogs and hamburgers, specifically The Works hot dog with mustard, Coney Island sauce and onions and the Pub Burger. For dinner, the options include diner favorites such as shepherds pie, meatloaf and chicken pot pie. Specials that are customer-favorites include stuffed peppers and buffalo mac and cheese, she said.

Their breakfast all day is a big hit with customers, as well, she added.

Open from 4:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and Sundays 4:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., she said she also serves dinner items at 5 a.m. to third shift workers from area plants such as Blount and Amazon. They want chicken tenders, burgers, she added. We have a lot of construction guys heading out to Boston who stop in for muffins and coffee.

Rogers Coney Island is located at 1518 N. Main St., Fall River.

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Touchless bathrooms, UV lights, HEPA filters: Rogers Coney Island unveils safety-influenced renovations - Fall River Herald News