
By Brice Burge
Managing Editor
Coco's restaurant is officially up for sale - still.
According to owners Patrick and Jackie Gonda, the business has been for sale for roughly a year. However, a recent re-listing allowing the expansive lake-shore property to be broken into two parts has brought more attention to the business for sale.
“For people trying to buy the restaurant, its a pretty expensive cost,” Jackie Gonda said. “Breaking it up will make it more affordable for people.”
Managing Editor
Coco's restaurant is officially up for sale - still.
According to owners Patrick and Jackie Gonda, the business has been for sale for roughly a year. However, a recent re-listing allowing the expansive lake-shore property to be broken into two parts has brought more attention to the business for sale.
“For people trying to buy the restaurant, its a pretty expensive cost,” Jackie Gonda said. “Breaking it up will make it more affordable for people.”
Offers have been made for the property as some members of the community knew of the previous listing, but the right one hadn't come along yet for the Gondas. Nothing has been hidden from the community of a potential sale, but many members of the community were unaware of the business being sold. A "for sale" sign has been placed on the 1.5-acre property being sold, but is located nearly a full football field away from the Coco's parking lot.
Any confusion about the potential selling of Coco's was squashed by the online listing through Steve Pelto of LOOK Realty was placed on the realtor website Trulia on Tuesday, July 16 with an information update earlier this morning. The original price of 1.25 million for the restaurant and entire land surrounding the building is still available, but now the available parking and building is listed at $895,000 and the adjacent vacant lot is available for $395,000. Breaking up the property was not available until recently.
“Coco's is a local favorite with a good location,” Pelto said. “The business is in good standing and the (Gonda's) want to sell for personal reasons, so there should be a lot of interest.”
The Gondas want to leave not only the area, but the continent, as they look to move to Spain. Patrick's aging mother and other family members live on Ibiza, an island in the Mediterranean Sea just South of Valencia. Patrick was born in Belgium and those strong European ties are often shown in his hosting styles, especially with the fish fry Fridays.
“With Europeans, dinner is usually an event with people sitting down and talking for hours,” Patrick said. “With the dishes coming out so fast, I try to slow (the kitchen) down, but (the patrons) would eat and go to a show or something. It's truly a different style.”
That difference is foiled by Jackie – who was quick to praise their self-sufficient staff – but also expressed the difficulty to leave the area. Despite the strong Gonda family bonds in another part of the world, the eminent move to Europe is causing mixed feelings for the MQT-raised Jackie. The Gondas have also listed their own home and how she will miss her close relationship to her patrons.
“When we went to visit a month in Spain, it was the customers I missed the most,” Jackie said. “The people that we have in here – I consider them family.”
There is no provision in the sale that the Coco's name or menu be continued, but the Gondas wish that it would. When the couple bought the restaurant, they kept the same fish fry recipe from the previous restaurant in the location, “green beans and all” according to Patrick and hopes the next owners will have the same success.
Coco's is just another business in MQT that is up for sale in 2013. Mike and Sonya Stucko bought the Longshot Saloon and turned it into Breakers Roadhouse. Fat Boyz in MQT Township is still on the market. Rumors continue to spread about the fate of the Upfront & Co. building and the upcoming debut of Das Stein Haus in the old Sai Uwa building on Front Street shows that restaurant real estate in MQT is still a hot commodity.
The building was built in 1972 and has 2,712 square feet. Equipment inside Coco's is included in the sale, but rights to Gopher's Cafe on Third Street is not. Gopher's is the primary supplier of desserts for Coco's.
Brice Burge is the Managing Editor for MQTSocialScene.com. He can be reached at [email protected].
Any confusion about the potential selling of Coco's was squashed by the online listing through Steve Pelto of LOOK Realty was placed on the realtor website Trulia on Tuesday, July 16 with an information update earlier this morning. The original price of 1.25 million for the restaurant and entire land surrounding the building is still available, but now the available parking and building is listed at $895,000 and the adjacent vacant lot is available for $395,000. Breaking up the property was not available until recently.
“Coco's is a local favorite with a good location,” Pelto said. “The business is in good standing and the (Gonda's) want to sell for personal reasons, so there should be a lot of interest.”
The Gondas want to leave not only the area, but the continent, as they look to move to Spain. Patrick's aging mother and other family members live on Ibiza, an island in the Mediterranean Sea just South of Valencia. Patrick was born in Belgium and those strong European ties are often shown in his hosting styles, especially with the fish fry Fridays.
“With Europeans, dinner is usually an event with people sitting down and talking for hours,” Patrick said. “With the dishes coming out so fast, I try to slow (the kitchen) down, but (the patrons) would eat and go to a show or something. It's truly a different style.”
That difference is foiled by Jackie – who was quick to praise their self-sufficient staff – but also expressed the difficulty to leave the area. Despite the strong Gonda family bonds in another part of the world, the eminent move to Europe is causing mixed feelings for the MQT-raised Jackie. The Gondas have also listed their own home and how she will miss her close relationship to her patrons.
“When we went to visit a month in Spain, it was the customers I missed the most,” Jackie said. “The people that we have in here – I consider them family.”
There is no provision in the sale that the Coco's name or menu be continued, but the Gondas wish that it would. When the couple bought the restaurant, they kept the same fish fry recipe from the previous restaurant in the location, “green beans and all” according to Patrick and hopes the next owners will have the same success.
Coco's is just another business in MQT that is up for sale in 2013. Mike and Sonya Stucko bought the Longshot Saloon and turned it into Breakers Roadhouse. Fat Boyz in MQT Township is still on the market. Rumors continue to spread about the fate of the Upfront & Co. building and the upcoming debut of Das Stein Haus in the old Sai Uwa building on Front Street shows that restaurant real estate in MQT is still a hot commodity.
The building was built in 1972 and has 2,712 square feet. Equipment inside Coco's is included in the sale, but rights to Gopher's Cafe on Third Street is not. Gopher's is the primary supplier of desserts for Coco's.
Brice Burge is the Managing Editor for MQTSocialScene.com. He can be reached at [email protected].