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Just over a month after a Waymo<\/a> autonomous car hit and killed<\/a> KitKat, the beloved Mission bodega cat, Randa\u2019s Market welcomed a new feline to its store late last week: Coco, a six-month-old white kitty with blue eyes, who is already winning over dozens of customers daily.<\/p>\n \u201cThere won\u2019t be another KitKat, but she\u2019s bringing a spark back to the neighborhood,\u201d said a man named AJ as he left the 16th and Valencia store after petting Coco on his way out. \u201cPeople are already going crazy for her.\u201d<\/p>\n Want the latest on the Mission and San Francisco? Sign up for our free daily newsletter below.<\/p>\n A neighbor gifted Coco to Mike Zeidan, the owner of the market, last week. After multiple suggestions, the name Coco was chosen via an Instagram poll. It is a reference to Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt from 51 to 31 B.C., said a Randa\u2019s Market employee, Abraham T.<\/p>\n Customers did not only bring the kitty, but also two large handmade signs reading \u201cKitKat Market\u201d that now sit on the front door and by the register. When asked if Randa\u2019s Market was changing its name, two employees said no, but that they had decided to keep the signs to honor their dead friend.<\/p>\n Amber Bishop, a neighbor, said she\u2019s happy to see Coco on her way to and from work. On Tuesday morning, she gave the white cat a few good morning scratches as she walked by.\u00a0<\/p>\n Coco is not there to be KitKat. She\u2019s there to be Coco, said the store\u2019s employee Abraham. She\u2019s still exploring and getting used to the space. \u201cI see her running around the store and pawing the TVs,\u201d AJ said. So far, her preferred destination seems to be the top of the fridges.<\/p>\n She was described as feisty, friendly, cute and a little scared of the outside world \u2014 a couple days ago, she walked outside to chase pigeons and, when a truck drove by, ran back inside the store in fright.\u00a0<\/p>\n David Vidale, another Randa\u2019s Market worker, said that on his watch Coco will stay inside the store as much as possible. KitKat, after all, died after a Waymo ran him over on the street.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Coco-2-853x640.jpg\")
Coco is the new cat at Randa\u2019s Market, but KitKat\u2019s memory still lives on. Photo by Oscar Palma.<\/p>\n![\"Mission](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/mission-local-logo-300x300.jpg\"){kind=logo}
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