[4][5] Co-owner Katy Millard was born in Rhodesia to an American father and Portuguese mother, but the family left during the uprising when the country became Zimbabwe, settling in Mobile, Alabama.

[6][7] Later, she worked for Daniel Patterson at Coi in San Francisco and helped him open Plum, his restaurant in Oakland, California.

[7] Millard's husband and co-owner, Ksandek Podbielski was also born in a small town in West Germany where his mother was a school teacher and his father was serving in the United States Army.

[6] In 2012, Millard and Podbielski started a pop-up restaurant series called the Coquine Supper Club at Dancing Roots Farm in Troutdale, Oregon, wineries, and special events.

[9][11] Coquine was also a finalist in the 2016 James Beard Foundation Awards and was named one of Bon Appétit's top fifty "best new restaurants".