News of the highly anticipated Coco’s Crush Bar & Grill in Indian Rocks Beach has been slow coming, with the most recent updates being a Facebook post in June that teased progress on the build-out, followed by a plan review filed with the city of Indian Rocks Beach earlier this week.
Though no date has been announced for the opening – giving rise to much speculation on the brand’s social media pages – it’s at least confirmed that Coco’s Crush IRB will be taking over the space vacated by 18 on the Rocks, at 2405 Gulf Blvd.
A representative of Coco’s Crush did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Coco’s Crush Bar & Grill in Indian Rocks Beach has had something of a storied journey thus far. The restaurant’s official Facebook account was launched in December 2021, after they were forced to allay concerns of noise complaints from the local community earlier that year.
In June 2021, owner Glenn Sutch told TBN Weekly that the restaurant will focus on acoustic music in the vein of Jimmy Buffet, adding, “And that’s about all. I’m getting too old for this. When it gets late at night, I want to go home.” As a result, city commissioners approved an alcohol license for the establishment.
Neither the concerns nor Sutch’s response to them was unfounded, as numerous “now-defunct bars” along Gulf Blvd have had their fair share of noise complaints over the years.
Similarly, the original Coco’s Crush on Clearwater Beach had previously incurred the wrath of a nearby hotel. Nevertheless, Sutch explained, “We’ve made 100 percent progress. We’re actually some of the go-to people now for the rest of the bars and how to do it correctly on the beach.”
