After 17 years on Karangahape Rd, Coco\u2019s Cantina co-owners Renee Coulter and Emile Bennington reveal the secret to its staying power.<\/p>\n
When it opened its doors midway along Karangahape Rd in the spring of 2009, Coco\u2019s Cantina lit a fire in the belly of the local dining scene. <\/p>\n
\n Sisters
\n Renee and Damaris Coulter (Ng\u0101ti Kahu, Te Rarawa) had been inspired by growing up in a hospitality family in Northland, travels in Italy, and a handful of Auckland establishments they admired, including Ponsonby\u2019s SPQR and Grey Lynn\u2019s Delicious. But what they created was unlike anything else.\n <\/p>\n
The eclectic design, unfussy and delicious food, and sense of joie de vivre that infused Coco\u2019s felt simultaneously fresh and age-old. <\/p>\n
Its service style eschewed pomp and obsequiousness, yet set a new benchmark for manaakitanga. It paved the way for K Rd to become a thriving hospitality precinct, and continues to lead by example 17 years on.<\/p>\n
Coco’s Cantina celebrates its 17th birthday in September<\/p>\n
When I show up to interview Renee Coulter and co-owner and head chef Emile Bennington, Renee is running a wee bit late. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s standard Renee,\u201d Bennington says with a laugh, as we settle into a table for a k\u014drero. <\/p>\n
He knows the drill; among other things, he\u2019s learned over their years of working together never to call her about business in the morning. Morning, as it turns out, has been seminal in Coco\u2019s evolution. <\/p>\n
Two years into the original half-sized restaurant opening, when the space next door came up for grabs, Renee and Damaris snapped up the lease to stop a pokies bar moving in. They opened the cafe Mister Morning, dishing up Roman-style sandwiches and excellent coffee to the same loyal K Rd crowd. But something didn\u2019t click with the sisters.<\/p>\n
Emile Bennington began by consulting on menus before becoming a co-owner of Coco\u2019s Cantina. Photo \/ Michael Craig
Renee Coulter a joint founder and co-owner of Coco\u2019s Cantina. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
\u201cDamaris and I were standing together behind the counter one day,\u201d recalls Coulter, breezing in right on cue. \u201cI said, \u2018I\u2019m hating this.\u2019 And she said, \u2018Me too.\u2019 We closed it two weeks later.\u201d <\/p>\n
The issue was the shift in energy. <\/p>\n
\u201cDaytime was never my jam,\u201d Coulter says with a laugh. \u201cIf I see you at 8.30 in the morning before you\u2019ve had your coffee, I\u2019m not the same person and you\u2019re not the same person. You\u2019re so much cooler when you\u2019re drinking a Negroni at four o\u2019clock in the afternoon.\u201d <\/p>\n
So a 4pm start it was: the cafe space gave way to an expanded restaurant, including an upstairs private dining area that has hosted celebrations of all sorts. That willingness to pivot, and to prioritise the rhythm of the room, is part of the business\u2019 secret sauce.<\/p>\n
Coco’s Cantina has changed its exterior look over the years but its ethos has stayed the same.<\/p>\n
Finding balance<\/p>\n
Coco\u2019s quickly grew from a beloved neighbourhood haunt driven by Renee and Damaris into something of an international lifestyle darling, catching the eye of global tastemaker The Selby \u2013 a photography project by Todd Selby capturing creative people \u2013 along the way. <\/p>\n
These days, the operational engine relies on the dynamic between Coulter and Bennington. <\/p>\n
Fresh from Melbourne in 2012, Australian-born Bennington walked into Coco\u2019s Cantina as a customer and felt like he\u2019d found a second home. With decades of experience, the chef began by consulting on menus, and eventually stepped in as head chef and business partner five years ago, with Damaris having moved on to focus on The Realness, her start-up directory of independent owner-operated and indigenous businesses in Aotearoa.<\/p>\n
Coulter and Bennington\u2019s relationship works by balancing logic with gut instinct. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have lots of similarities, but we\u2019ve become a really good team,\u201d Coulter says. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m s*** at numbers, Emile is great with numbers. I struggled with prioritising the boring mechanics; the wage cost and food cost. Now I have somebody who says, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m happy to take that on\u2019 \u2013 that frees up so much headspace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both have children, and the trusted business partnership allows them a better work-life balance. Bennington, who had \u201cpreviously entirely lost the taste for being in the kitchen\u201d because of being burned out, regained his passion for cooking thanks to the supportive atmosphere here.<\/p>\n
The food offering at Coco\u2019s has evolved to keep up with customer preferences and the economic reality of what people can afford to spend. <\/p>\n
Keeping things affordable is key at Coco’s.<\/p>\n
While the menu was once bistro-focused, with 250g portions such as steak and pork belly taking centre stage, recent years have seen a shift towards pizza and pasta. Bennington proudly describes the concept as a \u201cred sauce joint\u201d. <\/p>\n
Keeping things affordable is key: diners can grab $17 pasta and pizza specials alongside deals on drinks, antipasti, and desserts during happy hour. Meanwhile, board specials offer continuous variety \u2013 Bennington works smartly with proteins to ensure dishes, for the most part, stay under the $40 mark.<\/p>\n
The shared obsession with food remains front and centre. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe fizz about stuff together,\u201d Coulter says. \u201cEmile will go on holiday and go, \u2018I just ate this\u2019 or \u2018check out the ladies in the village making this!\u2019 Or I\u2019m at home making dinner and it\u2019s not going how I want it to go, and I\u2019ll ring him and go, \u2018It tastes too bitter!\u2019 And he\u2019ll say, \u2018Oh, well, you should do this\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pair\u2019s operational stability has cultivated loyalty among staff in an industry notorious for high turnover. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the least turnover of any place I\u2019ve ever worked,\u201d Bennington says. \u201cIn fact, it\u2019s the reverse of most places \u2013 most places you\u2019re desperate to find good staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
A living room for the neighbourhood<\/p>\n
Part of Coco\u2019s survival strategy comes down to its role as a local anchor. From hosting community markets and quiz nights to catering weddings for couples who met at the bar, it functions as a living room for the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n
As a stalwart in the industry, Coulter is often approached for comment on the state of it. She opts to decline more often than not these days; not from a lack of desire to support her peers, but because she\u2019s just more of a doer than a talker. <\/p>\n
The dining room of Coco’s Cantina. Photo \/ Libby Robinson<\/p>\n
That bias for action translates into serious community impact behind the scenes. Coco\u2019s lives in a neighbourhood where homelessness is visible. The restaurant quietly powers significant charity initiatives, such as fundraising and\/or supplying meals on a weekly basis for organisations such as Orange Sky, New Zealand Prostitutes\u2019 Collective, Dineaid and Merge\/Lifewise. <\/p>\n
\u201cSince we\u2019re making money from this neighbourhood, it only feels right to give back to the community,\u201d Coulter says. She and Bennington are quick to point out they couldn\u2019t fulfil these missions without the help of staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did a staff training a couple of days ago and pulled out \u2018The Coco\u2019s Way\u2019: the original mission statement and vision board Damaris and I made,\u201d Coulter says. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe said we wanted this to be a community restaurant, for our interests and passions to be folded into the restaurant. When I look at what we\u2019re doing now, it\u2019s honestly probably bigger than what we first imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n
While there\u2019s always been a love for community, it\u2019s never meant outsiders feel excluded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course we love regulars, but there is also a really special place in my heart for tourists,\u201d Coulter says, with a smile. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe had someone in here the other night from Iceland… You realise you\u2019re so grateful for everyone that walks through the door because they can go anywhere. When they make that decision to choose your restaurant, it\u2019s a buzz. Someone worked really f***ing hard for those dollars, and we take it seriously. It\u2019s a privilege to show them a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emile Bennington and Renee Coulter’s operational stability has cultivated loyalty among staff at Coco’s. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Looking forward<\/p>\n
Having weathered nearly two decades on K Rd, Coulter and Bennington are excited for the strip\u2019s next chapter with this weekend\u2019s opening of the nearby City Rail Link\u2019s Karanga-a-Hape station. <\/p>\n
\u201cEverything in this neighbourhood has changed, and then changed again, and will keep on changing,\u201d Coulter says. \u201cPeople have been eagerly awaiting that train station. It feels like the floodgates will open now, and this could be a massive win for the night-time economy here.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to have a station, and it\u2019s going to be amazing. This whole idea of going to Eden Park before a rugby game and having to stand on the street because you can\u2019t get into a bar\u2026 now people will go, \u2018Oh, we\u2019ll just go to K Rd before the game\u2019. Everything will change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through every cycle of Auckland hospitality, Coco\u2019s Cantina remains steadfast \u2013 warm, spirited, and delightfully down-to-earth. It\u2019s as though a little bit of that magic rubs off on other establishments that open along the strip, too. <\/p>\n
\u201cKarangahape Rd will always keep attracting owner-operators that have got a really clear vision about what they want to do,\u201d Coulter says. \u201cI\u2019m really excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coco\u2019s Cantina is celebrating its 17th birthday with events and specials until September 27, including a CRL opening day pizza party on Sunday, September 13, and a throwback menu on September 17.<\/p>\n
More food & drink<\/p>\n
A diner\u2019s guide to good Auckland eating<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After 17 years on Karangahape Rd, Coco\u2019s Cantina co-owners Renee Coulter and Emile Bennington reveal the secret to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[74,8831,51,6743,294241,110898,294239,289010,294240,51040,156,221,8790,14442,111,139,69,10112,2642,70128,2539,21501,9095,21707,1530],"class_list":["post-596977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-after","tag-an","tag-auckland","tag-became","tag-bennington","tag-cantina","tag-cocos","tag-coowners","tag-coulter","tag-emile","tag-entertainment","tag-how","tag-institution","tag-karangahape","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-power","tag-rd","tag-renee","tag-restaurant","tag-reveal","tag-secret","tag-staying","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=596977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}