Morning Call Coffee Stand is the name of a series of

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

s in the

New Orleans metropolitan area The New Orleans metropolitan area, designated the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area by the Office of Management and Budget, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, or simply Greater New Orleans (, ), is a List of United States me ...

that have served New Orleans-style ''

café au lait ''Café au lait'' (; ; French for "coffee with milk") is coffee with hot milk added. It differs from white coffee, which is coffee with cold milk or other whiteners added. In France, it is typically served as a breakfast drink, often as a la ...

'' and

beignet Beignet ( , also , ; ) is a type of deep-fried pastry of French origin. It is commonly made from choux pastry, pâte à choux, but can also be made using rice flour (rice beignets) or yeast-leavened batters. Beignets can be served in a variety o ...

s. It is the second oldest such business in Greater New Orleans, after

Café du Monde Café du Monde ( or 'the People's Café') is a renowned open-air coffee shop located on Decatur Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It is a New Orleans landmark and tourist destination, known for its ''c ...

. Morning Call was opened by Joseph Jurisch in 1870, at the lower end of the New Orleans

French Market The French Market () is a market and series of commercial buildings spanning six blocks in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as a Native American trading post predating European colonization, the market is the oldest of its k ...

, eight years after its main competitor,

, opened a few blocks upriver in the

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the (; ; ), is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans () was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Square" in English), a ...

. For over a century it was a

landmark. Locals long had personal opinions regarding whether they preferred Morning Call, or the original Café du Monde two blocks away. For decades both Morning Call and Cafe Du Monde offered automobile curb service. MorningCallMetrieJuly08Arch

In 1974, confronting rent increases and the redevelopment of the French Market district, the owners of the Morning Call closed the original location and moved to Fat City, a commercial district in

Metairie, Louisiana Metairie ( ) is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area. With a population of 143,507 in 2020, Metairie is ...

, in

Jefferson Parish Jefferson Parish () is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 440,781. Its parish seat is Gretna, its largest community is Metairie, and its largest incorporated city is Kenner. Jefferson Parish i ...

. In 2012, Morning Call returned to New Orleans when they opened a second location in New Orleans'

City Park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and other incorporate ...

Casino Building. In April 2018, The Metairie, LA location was closed. Rising lease rates, expenses and the competition of many more new coffee shops nearby was cited as reasons for closing this location. Bob Hennessey, who runs Morning Call said “We’re not going out of business, we’re focused on the New Orleans store.” In 2018, New Orleans City Park, to ensure the park was getting the highest value for the concession in the Casino Building, began a bid process to award the lease to a local beignet parlor. Morning Call lost the lease to

. Morning Call closed its last fixed location in January 2019. The owners of Morning Call vowed to return in a different location. In 2019 Morning Call continued with a series of pop-ups in Greater New Orleans while in negotiations for a new permanent location. In May 2020, Morning Call returned to the City Park Area, opening its current location at 5115 Canal Blvd.

References

External links

Official website, early 2019
{{coord missing, New Orleans Restaurants in New Orleans Coffeehouses and cafés in the United States