Coco's Bakery
{{Short description|U.S. casual dining restaurant chain}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2007}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Coco's Bakery
| logo =
| type = Subsidiary
| genre = Bakeries
| foundation = {{start date and age|1948}}
| founder = John and Audrey McIntosh
| location_city = Beaverton, Oregon
| location_country =
| location =
| origins =
| key_people =
| industry = Restaurant
| products = Food
| services =
| revenue =
| operating_income =
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| parent = Shari's Management Corporation
| divisions =
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| owner =
| slogan =
| homepage = {{official URL|http://www.cocosbakery.com/}}
| dissolved =
| footnotes =
}}
Coco's Bakery is a subsidiary chain of Shari's Cafe & Pies and casual dining restaurants operating in the western United States. As of October 2024, the company operates 5 locations in California. It began as The Snack Shop in 1948 in Corona del Mar, California, and had switched owners multiple times. Two of them are franchised (Upland, and Rancho Cucamonga)
File:USMC-100416-M-3215R-001.jpg in 2010 ]]
History
In 1948, The Snack Shop along the Pacific Coast Highway in Corona del Mar, California, was purchased by John and Audrey McIntosh.{{Cite web|url=http://obits.ocregister.com/obituaries/orangecounty/obituary.aspx?n=john-mcintosh&pid=126123535|title=John McIntosh's Obituary on Orange County Register|website=Orange County Register|access-date=2018-01-19}} 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,{{Cite web|url=http://obits.ocregister.com/obituaries/orangecounty/obituary.aspx?n=william-charles-mcintyre-bill&pid=170058704|title=William Charles "Bill" McIntyre's Obituary on Orange County Register|website=Orange County Register|access-date=2018-01-19}} they grew the Snack Shop concept to many more units and then in 1960 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.{{cite book|last1=Hayes|first1=Scott|title=Orange County Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BGEEAAAAMBAJ&q=W.R.+Grace+Coco%27s&pg=PA149|publisher=Emmis Communications|accessdate=2014-03-07|date=May 1989}}{{cite news|last1=Horovitz|first1=Bruce|title=W. R. Grace Will Sell 124 Units in Restaurant Group|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-12-fi-27689-story.html|access-date=2014-03-07|work=Los Angeles Times|date=February 12, 1986}}
On May 24, 1996, Coco's and Carrows were later sold to Flagstar, the parent company of Denny's.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-05-24-fi-8086-story.html|title=Coco's, Carrows acquisition completed|date=May 24, 1996|access-date=March 11, 2023|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en}} On July 12, 1997, Flagstar filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/12/business/denny-s-parent-makes-bankruptcy-filing.html|title=Denny's parent makes bankruptcy filing|date=July 12, 1997|access-date=March 11, 2023|website=The New York Times|language=en}}
On February 15, 2001, Coco's and Carrows new owners, FRD Acquisition Co., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-feb-15-fi-25783-story.html|title=Coco's, Carrows operator files for bankruptcy|date=February 15, 2001|access-date=March 11, 2023|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en}}
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.[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2006_May_30/ai_n16420723 Catalina Restaurant Group Announces Merger with Zensho America Corporation]
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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrn.com/corporate-news/underperforming-coco-s-and-carrows-restaurants-shuttered|title=Underperforming Coco's and Carrows restaurants shuttered|date=April 2, 2015|website=Nation's Restaurant News}} See also {{ill|ココスジャパン|ja|vertical-align=sup}} (Coco's Japan Co., Ltd).
In September 2018, it was announced that Shari's Cafe & Pies had taken over Carrows and Coco's.{{Cite web|url=https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/sharis-pies-owns-cocos-carrows|title=Shari's Pies now owns Coco's and Carrows|website=Restaurant Business}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrn.com/family-dining/shari-s-management-corp-takes-over-coco-s-and-carrows|title=Shari's Management Corp. takes over Coco's and Carrows|date=September 13, 2018|website=Nation's Restaurant News}}
Competition
In California, Coco's Bakery Restaurant compete with other local casual restaurants with an in-store bakery (or a sales counter), such as Hof's Hut, Polly's Pies and Marie Callender's restaurants.
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.cocosbakery.com/}}
Category:Companies based in Carlsbad, California
Category:Economy of the Southwestern United States
Category:Regional restaurant chains in the United States
Category:Fast-food chains of the United States
Category:Bakeries of the United States
Category:Restaurants established in 1948
Category:Restaurants in San Diego County, California
Category:1948 establishments in California
Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1997
Category:Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001