Black Bear Diner to Replace Coco’s Bakery in Vista

Black Bear Diner, a national comfort food chain, is preparing to open a new location in North County, specifically in Vista at 605 West Vista Way.

The company’s second San Diego site is expected to move into the former home of Coco’s Bakery. A representative from the company tells What Now San Diego that this new location will be owned and operated by franchise owner Karan Gogri, a Black Bear Diner franchisee since 2014. In addition to owning a handful of locations throughout California, Gogri is also a franchise owner of Jack in the Box and Qdoba. The new Black Bear Diner is expected to open next year.

This isn’t the first time Black Bear Diner has taken over Coco’s Bakery in San Diego. When the company made its city debut in 2019, the Redding-based company replaced Coco’s at 1025 Fletcher Parkway in El Cajon. Now, the company does it again, this time in Vista. The new location comes after the company announced at the beginning of the year that it is fully in growth mode again. The chain opened ten new locations in 2022, added seven more last year, and was set to open at least 14 this year after signing two new franchisees.

Known for its breakfast and lunch offerings and for serving dinner, Black Bear has 156 locations open. Black Bear Diner’s 33 franchises operate 91 restaurants, with the company running 65 of them. The company is in the process of opening five corporate-owned diners in Texas this year to go along with several franchise locations, including four units being developed in Kansas, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado by LVP Restaurant Group, which also counts Del Taco, Bojangles, and Dunkin’ in its portfolio.