It was a small restaurant with only two tables and 10 counter seats. It was so popular that a second opened in 1950 and by 1960 they had grown to include eleven coffee shops, and just kept growing. Coco's offers traditional American breakfasts like pancakes, French toast, omelets, etc. They also have a wide variety of American favorites including steaks, chicken, seafood, and entree salads. As a bakery they offer fresh-baked pies.
Coco'sA California Classic
Born along a sunny stretch of the Pacific Coast Hwy in 1948, Coco's history is rich with food made the right way, in a place as comfortable as your own kitchen. We pride ourselves on our clean fresh fare, our slow roasted meats, and our delicious California inspired healthy-happy options.Coco's offers a wide variety of entree salads as well as other contemporary American favorites including steaks, chicken and seafood. We also offer delicious, traditional American breakfasts featuring pancakes, French toast, omelets, etc. As a bakery concept, we specialize in providing the best-tasting, fresh-baked pies around. Our pies are always a fit for any special occasion or just to enjoy at home with your family.
Our Commitment
What could be better than taking an active part in the communities we serve? Coco's loves nothing more than helping out our families, friends and neighbors. Coco's provides ongoing community-building support and safety at our restaurants.
- Ecolab Science Certified
Safety is our priority. Our safety standards have been recognized by the leader in restaurant cleanliness.- Military Discount
Coco's is proud to give a military discount to all those who have given so much.- Honored Guest
Coco's offers an honored guest menu to provide value to seniors and guests with lighter appetites.
Coco'sCoco's Bakery Restaurants
It all began back in 1948, with one little restaurant along Pacific Coast Highway in Orange county, California. Today, there are over 70 Coco's Bakery Restaurants in the Western United States including California, Arizona, and Nevada.
BlogspotSeptember 2011
Eventually, all the Snack Shops were turned into Coco's. Coco's, in turn, was ultimately sold to the Catalina Restaurant Group, which now also owns Carrow's.
John Reuben McIntosh and Audrey Forrow were both Marines at MCAS El Toro when they met. They married, and after leaving the Marine Corps they both started working in restaurants. In 1948, they both landed jobs at a restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway in Corona Del Mar -- John as a cook and Audrey as a waitress. They were there only two weeks when a kitchen fire caused a lot of damage and the owner decided to sell the place. The couple went to Audrey's father, John McIntyre, and asked him for a loan so they could buy it. Instead, he went into partnership with them. Together, they bought the place for $3,000.
The little restaurant, with only two tables and 10 counter seats, reopened on Oct. 19, 1948 as the first Snack Shop restaurant. Today, it still stands as the northern portion of what is now Ruby's Diner. (See photo above.)
It was so popular and successful that a second Snack Shop opened in 1950 on South Main Street in Santa Ana. And by 1960 the chain had grown to include eleven coffee shops. The McIntosh's remained very hands-on about their business. John is said to have been very detail oriented, and Audrey created many of the recipes and designed the decor and staff uniforms.
Thinking beyond coffee shops, they also opened the first Reuben's restaurant in 1960. Snack Shops and Reuben's were just the beginning of the Far West Services company, which ultimately included such restaurants as Coco's (1965), Isadora's, Moonrakers, The Plankhouse, The Sandpiper, The Mooring, Baxter Street (dinner theater), The Whaler, The Reuben E. Lee, and more. At the top of their game, Far West was serving meals to 45,000 customers a day.
WIKIPEDIACoco's Bakery
A subsidiary chain of Shari's Cafe & Pies and casual dining restaurants operating in the western United States. As of April 2024, the company operates 10 locations in Arizona, and California. It began as The Snack Shop in 1948 in Corona del Mar, California, and had switched owners multiple times. Three of them are franchised (Flagstaff, Upland, and Rancho Cucamonga)In 1948, The Snack Shop along the Pacific Coast Highway in Corona del Mar, California, was purchased by John and Audrey McIntosh. John and Audrey decided to purchase the restaurant after he had worked there for two weeks.
- In partnership with his brother-in-law Bill McIntyre, they grew the Snack Shop concept to many more units.
- In 1960 they expanded the business into Reuben's in Newport Beach.
- Then in 1965 they expanded the Snack Shop concept to Coco's and the Reuben E. Lee, ultimately converting all Snack Shops to Coco's. As the name implies, the bakery-restaurants feature pies. After the conversion of the Snack Shops to Coco's locations, as well the newly expanded Reuben's steakhouse franchise that were co-located on Coco's properties, the entire operation was sold to W. R. Grace and Company, a New York chemical conglomerate, as part of its Restaurant Services Division. During this period of Grace ownership, Grace also added local Mexican restaurant chain El Torito, Carrows and many others.
- After years of poor performance, W. R. Grace spun off 145 restaurant locations in a leveraged buyout to Restaurant Enterprises Group, a company composed of Grace managers.
- On May 24, 1996, Coco's and Carrows were later sold to Flagstar, the parent company of Denny's.
- On July 12, 1997, Flagstar filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- On February 15, 2001, Coco's and Carrows new owners, FRD Acquisition Co., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- In 2002, Coco's, along with its sister chain Carrows, was purchased by Catalina Restaurant Group, headquartered in Carlsbad, California.
- In 2006, Catalina Restaurant Group was bought by Japanese company Zensho Co., Ltd., which has operated Coco's Japan for many years.
- In 2015 San Antonio, Texas-based Food Management Partners acquired Carlsbad, California-based Catalina Restaurant Group Inc., parent of the Coco's and Carrows concepts, from Zensho Co., Ltd.
- In September 2018, it was announced that Shari's Cafe & Pies had taken over Carrows and Coco's.
Restaurant BusinessSeptember 2018
Sam Borgese is running Coco's Bakery and Catalina Restaurant again. Sort of. The longtime industry executive is currently the CEO of Shari's Restaurants owner Shari's Management Corp., which over the summer has made a very quiet deal to acquire Coco's and Carrows from Food Management Partners (FMP).How quiet? The deal was never announced. Borgese said he could not comment on the deal when asked about it on Monday. But Shari's has been saying in announcements that it operates the family-dining brands, and FMP's website says it has divested the chains.
Borgese had led the brands, when they made up Catalina Restaurant Group, from 2003 through 2008. He helped turn the company around following a 2001 bankruptcy filing, and guided the chains through their 2006 sale to Zensho America, a subsidiary of a 4,000-unit Japanese restaurant operator that was Coco's and Carrows' largest international franchisee.
The brands struggled under Zensho's ownership, and by 2015 the Japanese company had sold them to FMP. FMP, which had been a Buffalo Wild Wings franchisee, was buying up low-cost restaurant brands, including the buffet brands Ryan's and Old Country Buffet, Furr's Fresh Buffet and Don Pablo's, among others. FMP quickly closed dozens of restaurants around California, leading to a class action filed by employees of the restaurants, who accused the company of not providing them enough notice. Catalina won the lawsuit.
Today, the two brands operate just 60 locations in the U.S., down from well over 200 in 2006. Coco's and Carrows operated 149 locations when Zensho sold them to Food Management.