Nashville-based restaurateur Chuck Cinelli has sold the assets of his former Cafe Coco business in Midtown, and says the beloved cafe will be returned to its original form.
The new owners are Marianne and Ron McKenzie, who live in Washington state. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed, Cinelli tells the Scene.
Essentially, the McKenzies acquired the lease, equipment, name rights and social media presence of Cinelli’s business. During the past three months, Cinelli operated Coco’s Italian Market and Cafe, a market with takeout items, in the space. Of note, Cinelli said the McKenzies will return the space to look and function like Cafe Coco had for the past 25-plus years.
Coco’s Italian Market and Cafe is open, with the McKenzies planning to reinstall the iconic Cafe Coco sign, the 24-hour operational model, the writer’s night and the menu. Once fully functional as the reinvented Cafe Coco, the business could have about 30 full- and part-time employees.
“I was putting up the signage for the new business when I got a call to note I might have a buyer,” Cinelli tells the Scene. “The McKenzies have saved a business that many locals consider an institution and that I am humbled to have started.”
Cinelli continues to operate Coco’s Italian Market in Sylvan Park, Coco’s Italian Restaurant in West Meade at the Highway 70-100 split, and Coco’s Italian Coffee and Cannoli Kiosk at the Green Hills Mall.
