On my recent trip to Florida, I went to visit Nardo’s Natural World HQ to meet with three of the four Mastronardo boys. They were recently featured on the Shark Tank and were funded by Barbara Corcoran. I planned to interview Kyle Nardo about his Shark Tank experiences, but before we got down to business, Kyle, KJ, Danny, and I decided to grab some lunch.

We went to a new place in St. Pete called Luke’s Coney Island. The joint has only been open for six months or so and was opened by a family from the Detroit area. As the generations systematically escaped the cold Michigan weather and settled in Florida, they began missing authentic Detroit style Coney Island Dogs, so they opened a joint of their own!

Luke’s features Dearborn Franks from Detroit- the same franks used by world famous Lafayette Coney Island in Detroit. They also feature Detroit style Coney Island sauce. The decor is reminiscent of old time hot dog joints and has a Detroit/Michigan theme.

Lunching with the Nardo boys was a trip- at times I felt like I was dining with one of my summer Babe Ruth teams. The guys goofed around with each other as only brothers would and chatted up the staff and patrons. They are committed to keeping their business in the Tampa/St.Pete area, and they like patronizing local businesses too. This was their first trip to Luke’s and, judging from their reaction, it won’t be their last.

I enjoy meeting new people and discovering new hot dog joints, so this trip was an unparalleled success.

After lunch, we headed back to their office where I chatted with Kyle for about 45 minutes. The interview with Kyle about life before, during and after Shark Tank will be published on the Shark Tank Blog. The boys’ episode re-runs Saturday, May 4, 2012 on ABC TV at 8PM Eastern time.

Enjoy the video….