Mailbag: We will miss the CdM Coco’s

Long before the coffee shops, the sushi bars, the fish taco stands and the vegan restaurants, Coco’s was the place to go in Newport Beach.

Founded by John and Audrey McIntosh as the Snack Shop, Coco’s grew to five restaurants in Newport Beach — Fashion Island, Corona del Mar, Westcliff, Bristol and on MacArthur in the airport area.

Everyone went to Coco’s. The Fashion Island location was a power center for politicians, developers, attorneys and bankers. True, there was not much more around in the early days, but Coco’s always offered a broad menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner and coffee breaks. And even as it went through numerous ownership changes, the quality of the food and the selection remained high.

True, the service sometimes lagged in recent years after our children, including one of my sons and one of my daughters, who provided a high level of smiling service after high school and during vacations from college, went off to their professions. For some reason, the current crop of local youngsters did not seem to take these jobs.

But now, with the closing some years ago of the Westcliff and airport stores, the recent closing of the Fashion Island store, and now the closing of the Corona del Mar store, we are left with a single Coco’s on Bristol, and for how long we do not know.

Yes, Ruby’s provides a replacement of sorts, but Ruby’s remains a very good coffee shop. Those of us who are long-time Newport residents will really miss going to Coco’s. Times change, tastes change, but we will long remember going to Coco’s.

Martin A. Brower

Newport Beach

Stop studying trash pickup

The trash collection service is the most appreciated city service. We don’t separate our trash, and the crews are nice folk and pick up stray spillage. Repeatedly, the City Council has funded studies demonstrating a determination to privatize our best city service. And we have another uncooperative study of conversion from a city service to Soprano Sanitation and garbage separation. Enough! Time for a 10-year moratorium of city consideration of trash service changes.

Dr. Roger M. Farel

Newport Beach