How Karangahape Rd Restaurant Coco’s Cantina Became An Auckland Institution

After 17 years on Karangahape Rd, Coco’s Cantina co-owners Renee Coulter and Emile Bennington reveal the secret to its staying power.When it opened its doors midway along Karangahape Rd in the spring of 2009, Coco’s Cantina lit a fire in the belly of the local dining scene. Sisters The eclectic design, unfussy and delicious food, and sense of joie de vivre that infused Coco’s felt simultaneously fresh and age-old. 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.Coco's Cantina celebrates its 17th birthday in SeptemberWhen I show up to interview Renee Coulter and co-owner and head chef Emile Bennington, Renee is running a wee bit late. “That’s standard Renee,” Bennington says with a laugh, as we settle into a table for a kōrero. He knows the drill; among other things, he’s 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’s evolution. 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’t click with the sisters.Emile Bennington began by consulting on menus before becoming a co-owner of Coco’s Cantina. Photo / Michael CraigRenee Coulter a joint founder and co-owner of Coco’s Cantina. Photo / Michael Craig“Damaris and I were standing together behind the counter one day,” recalls Coulter, breezing in right on cue. “I said, ‘I’m hating this.’ And she said, ‘Me too.’ We closed it two weeks later.” The issue was the shift in energy. “Daytime was never my jam,” Coulter says with a laugh. “If I see you at 8.30 in the morning before you’ve had your coffee, I’m not the same person and you’re not the same person. You’re so much cooler when you’re drinking a Negroni at four o’clock in the afternoon.” 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’ secret sauce.Coco's Cantina has changed its exterior look over the years but its ethos has stayed the same.Finding balanceCoco’s 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 – a photography project by Todd Selby capturing creative people – along the way. These days, the operational engine relies on the dynamic between Coulter and Bennington. Fresh from Melbourne in 2012, Australian-born Bennington walked into Coco’s Cantina as a customer and felt like he’d 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.Coulter and Bennington’s relationship works by balancing logic with gut instinct. “We have lots of similarities, but we’ve become a really good team,” Coulter says. “I’m 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, ‘Oh, I’m happy to take that on’ – that frees up so much headspace.”Both have children, and the trusted business partnership allows them a better work-life balance. Bennington, who had “previously entirely lost the taste for being in the kitchen” because of being burned out, regained his passion for cooking thanks to the supportive atmosphere here.The food offering at Coco’s has evolved to keep up with customer preferences and the economic reality of what people can afford to spend. Keeping things affordable is key at Coco's.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 “red sauce joint”. 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 – Bennington works smartly with proteins to ensure dishes, for the most part, stay under the $40 mark.The shared obsession with food remains front and centre. “We fizz about stuff together,” Coulter says. “Emile will go on holiday and go, ‘I just ate this’ or ‘check out the ladies in the village making this!’ Or I’m at home making dinner and it’s not going how I want it to go, and I’ll ring him and go, ‘It tastes too bitter!’ And he’ll say, ‘Oh, well, you should do this’.”The pair’s operational stability has cultivated loyalty among staff in an industry notorious for high turnover. “We have the least turnover of any place I’ve ever worked,” Bennington says. “In fact, it’s the reverse of most places – most places you’re desperate to find good staff.”A living room for the neighbourhoodPart of Coco’s 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.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’s just more of a doer than a talker. The dining room of Coco's Cantina. Photo / Libby RobinsonThat bias for action translates into serious community impact behind the scenes. Coco’s 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’ Collective, Dineaid and Merge/Lifewise. “Since we’re making money from this neighbourhood, it only feels right to give back to the community,” Coulter says. She and Bennington are quick to point out they couldn’t fulfil these missions without the help of staff.“I did a staff training a couple of days ago and pulled out ‘The Coco’s Way’: the original mission statement and vision board Damaris and I made,” Coulter says. “We 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’re doing now, it’s honestly probably bigger than what we first imagined.”While there’s always been a love for community, it’s never meant outsiders feel excluded.“Of course we love regulars, but there is also a really special place in my heart for tourists,” Coulter says, with a smile. “We had someone in here the other night from Iceland... You realise you’re so grateful for everyone that walks through the door because they can go anywhere. When they make that decision to choose your restaurant, it’s a buzz. Someone worked really f***ing hard for those dollars, and we take it seriously. It’s a privilege to show them a good time.”Emile Bennington and Renee Coulter's operational stability has cultivated loyalty among staff at Coco's. Photo / Michael CraigLooking forwardHaving weathered nearly two decades on K Rd, Coulter and Bennington are excited for the strip’s next chapter with this weekend’s opening of the nearby City Rail Link’s Karanga-a-Hape station. “Everything in this neighbourhood has changed, and then changed again, and will keep on changing,” Coulter says. “People 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.“You’re going to have a station, and it’s 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’t get into a bar… now people will go, ‘Oh, we’ll just go to K Rd before the game’. Everything will change.”Through every cycle of Auckland hospitality, Coco’s Cantina remains steadfast – warm, spirited, and delightfully down-to-earth. It’s as though a little bit of that magic rubs off on other establishments that open along the strip, too. “Karangahape Rd will always keep attracting owner-operators that have got a really clear vision about what they want to do,” Coulter says. “I’m really excited.”Coco’s 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.More food & drinkA diner’s guide to good Auckland eating