Good Bye Costa Azul – A Coronado Love Story

Submitted by Kelly Sarber for Brant and Carol Sarber

Costa Azul has been Coronado’s proverbial living room and local watering hole for more than 24 years. Created by my brother Brant, owning two restaurants in our island town was his dream come true, with his business empire truly a family affair. His wife Carol managed the finances, Kathy Byrne (Carols’ sister) ran the day-to-day of Island Pasta, and Emily, his daughter, was always lending a hand any way she could. Brant’s evolution to owning these restaurants was due to hard work, bartending many years at the iconic Coronado Chart House, where he held court and hosted his informal comedy routines for thousands of people over the years, all whom he called his friends. In 1994, he jumped at the chance to retrofit the Oriental Arts store into Island Pasta (at 1202 Orange Ave), infusing his energy into creating a meeting place where ‘everyone knows your name.’ Officially opened on 4th of July weekend, Island Pasta’s homemade comfort food and friendly atmosphere was a big hit from its first day of serving fresh pastas and pizzas. The success of Island Pasta laid the groundwork for Brant to start to incubate a bigger vision, and within a few years he embarked on his next mission of securing a larger restaurant which he lovingly named Costa Azul (blue coast).

Long-time Islanders will remember Mulvaney’s (and briefly Cecil’s) at 1031 Orange Ave. When this large space became available in 1998, Brant jumped on it with the excitement of a lottery winner. Our family marveled at Brant’s latent interior design skills, blending frugality with lighting, fabrics and colors with nods to locally-centric, coastal touches as he set to the work of seeing his phoenix rise out of the prior eatery’s kitschy ashes. Restaurant auctions, trips to Rosarito, and meetings with craftsmen pollinated his vision of creating a Mexican style eatery on Orange that could accommodate large families and gatherings, with ample room to bring back the Chart House-inspired bar chemistry he missed. He plucked the massive bar and church pews for pennies on the dollar, brought in surfboards from Island Surf, lights and chairs from Rosarito, and committed hundreds of hours of sweat equity, finally opening Costa Azul in January of 1999. The casual Mexican spot quickly became one of Coronado’s most popular bars and restaurant, with its chameleon quality appealing to all ages and types during most hours of the day and night.

The popularity of both restaurants was in part because of my brother’s personality. Brant emotionally connected with all people he met in an authentic, smiling manner and he treated everyone with kindness, creating an ever increasing extended family that were not necessarily blood relatives. Brant’s popularity was truly at the heart of his restaurants’ success, and he worked hard to infuse that philosophy to his employees. He mentored hundreds of local kids by offering jobs at both of his restaurants, instilling a work ethic and self-confidence into Coronado’s next generation.

Costa Azul operated at the old address for more than 20 years with Brant and Carol dedicating their lives to the day-to-day grind that restaurant ownership entails. Unfortunately, in 2017, almost the entire block of businesses was sold, forcing most locally owned stores and Brant to vacate his prime location. Luckily, after a long search, he identified a site at the Ferry Landing and moved his beloved Costa Azul to this new location maintaining the same sense of community, reasonably priced food and entertainment that attracted friends and tourists.

When Brant announced that he had found a location to move Costa Azul on Port property, locals and long-term customers showed their continued support and hundreds shared on Coronado Happenings Facebook group how much they had missed the Sarber family owned, local eatery. But the timing of Covid was inopportune, closing the new restaurant less than a few weeks after first opening. Brant and Carol never lost their drive and enthusiasm, and did everything to keep the lights on and the great food coming except this time under a “to go” model. Finally, they were able to open again and Brant enjoyed four years running his gorgeous, bay-front restaurant before his untimely death.

Brant and Carol’s story is an iconic version of the American Dream, where if someone works hard enough with a business model that makes sense, they would be rewarded with a locally-owned business that is sustainable and brings pride to their family. Their business model meant that locals and tourists alike could enjoy great tasting food in a happy, fun and supportive environment, coupled with a sense of belonging and connection to our community. Brant, Carol and Kathy’s contribution to our community is unquantifiable, providing millions of moments of memories — people meeting, talking, connecting and eating.. We are grateful for Coronado’s support over the last 24 years at both locations, and we hope to see you soon at Island Pasta.

Submitted by Kelly Sarber for Brant and Carol Sarber