The history of Morning Call Coffee Stand in photos, from French Market to Canal Boulevard | Where NOLA Eats
It’s a new day for the Morning Call Coffee Stand, with its new home now open at 5101 Canal Blvd. To understand the anticipation around its return, let’s take a look at its history.
Founded in the French Quarter in 1870, the Morning Call Coffee Stand is known around New Orleans for its beignets and cafe au lait. The business relocated to Metairie in the 1970s and expanded with a New Orleans location in City Park in 2012. By 2019, however, both locations were closed and Morning Call was essentially homeless.
Now it’s back in business and along with cravings for beignets and coffee many people will be returning with memories. These photos from our archives help tell the Morning Call story through the years.
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Contents
- 1 Morning Call customers 39
- 2 Morning Call waiter 84
- 3 morning call french market 1948
- 4 Morning Call pouring47
- 5 Why New Orleans is America’s undisputed No. 1 coffee town, in 70 vintage images
- 6 Morning Call french market 1973
- 7 Morning Call cook73
- 8 Morning Call customers 1973
- 9 Morning Call waiters 74
- 10 Morning Call counter74
- 11 Morning Call waiter73
- 12 Morning Call beignets 73
- 13 Morning Call french market 74
- 14 Morning Call customers74
- 15 Morning Call french market ext 74
- 16 Morning Call construction 74
- 17 Morning Call owners toast 74
- 18 Morning Call owners met 74
- 19 Morning Call coffee customer 74
- 20 Morning Call kid 74
- 21 Morning Call man beignet 74
- 22 Morning Call arch 74
- 23 morning call customers 1984
- 24 morning call waiter currera 84
- 25 Morning Call breakfast 84
- 26 Morning Call making beignets 84
- 27 Morning Call waiter steven mills 1987
- 28 Morning Call waiter melvin martin 1990
- 29 Morning Call customer90
- 30 Morning Call melvin90
- 31 Morning Call smoke 90
- 32 Morning Call 1990
- 33 Morning Call waiter08
- 34 Morning Call author 93
- 35 Morning Call city 12
- 36 morningcallwaiter 2013
- 37 morning call3.jpg
- 38 NO.beignet.111518.cg.317
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- 44 morning call arch1.jpeg
- 45 morning call room.jpeg
- 46 morning call family.jpeg
- 47 morning call beignets1.jpeg
1939: ‘Placed elbow-to-elbow, all the socialites, fishermen and hucksters served nightly by famed French Market coffee stands would reach — for another cup of steaming coffee, a perfect end for a perfect day, be it mingling with Carnival royalty or bringing fish to market. Elbows in denim and elbows in soup-and-fish scrape an acquaintance and love it. New Orleans takes its coffee drinking seriously, leaning over counter and table in these stands to bend these elbows collectively with the aromatic elixir and the white-topped pillows that are doughnuts.’ (Original caption)
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1984: ‘The Morning Call Coffee Stand offers one of life’s few certainties: coffee and beignets sold hot, night and day. Ten years ago, the Morning Call, after doing business on Decatur Street since 1870, moved to Metairie’s Fat City. In the move from city to suburb, nothing much changed. A tradition is a tradition, no matter where it goes.’ (Original caption)
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The Morning Call coffee shop, which calls itself ‘New Orleans’ most famous coffee drinking place’ as seen at its original home in the French Market in 1948. Photograph published in the New Orleans Item, Wednesday, April 28, 1948.
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1947: ‘Pouring coffee at the famous Morning Call Restaurant in the French Quarter.’ (Original caption)
Why New Orleans is America’s undisputed No. 1 coffee town, in 70 vintage images
“Route 66” stars George Maharis, left, and Martin Milner share a cup of coffee at the old Morning Call coffee stand in the French Quarter in the show’s third episode, which was shot on location in New Orleans. “Route 66” aired for four season on CBS, from 1960-1964.
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1973: Construction at the Morning Call in the French Market.
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1973: Morning Call cook Albert Agus prepares to roll and cut dough by hand.
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1973: Morning Call customers.
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1974: Waiters of the Morning Call in the French Quarter.
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1974: Morning Call Coffee Stand in the French Quarter
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1973: ‘Recently retired waiter Cleveland Dugas (left) dished out donuts for 30 years.’ (Original caption)
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1973: Beignets removed from oil.
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1974: Interior view of the Morning Call in the French Quarter.
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1974: Customers at the Morning Call in the French Quarter.
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1973: Morning Call Coffee House in the French Market
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1974: Construction at Morning Call Coffee Stand.
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1974: ‘It’s official. Fat City’s newest old business is the Morning Call coffee stand. Yesterday the owners of the coffee and beignet shop which served French Market patrons for 103 years signed a lease which put the Morning Call on Fat City’s landmark map. Al and Ed Jurisich offer toast to future in Fat City.’ (Original caption)
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1974: Al, Edwin & Liz Jurisich at Morning Call Restaurant in Fat City.
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1974: Woman drinking coffee at Morning Call.
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1974: A youngster enjoys her beignets during the last call at the Morning Call Coffee Stand at the French Market.
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1974: A customer dines at Morning Call in the French Quarter.
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1974: Customers of the Morning Call in the French Quarter
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1984: Customers at Morning Call in Metairie. This location closed in 2018.
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Inatius Currera pours the coffee and boiled milk at Morning Call in Metairie on Aug. 29, 1984.
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1984: ‘The late breakfast crowd packs the Morning Call Coffee Stand for beignets and coffee. Saints coach Bum Phillips comes here for coffee. So does chef Paul Prudhomme and trumpeter Al Hirt.’ (Original caption)
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1984: ‘After rolling the Beignet dough out into a thin sheet, John Hunt, cuts the dough into squares before frying it.’ (Original caption)
Morning Call waiter steven mills 1987
1987: ‘Steven Mills has worked for The Morning Call for more than 30 years, first at the one in the French Quarter and now at the Severn Avenue location.’ (Original caption)
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1990: Morning Call Coffee Stand’s Melvin Martin takes a smoke break during a slow stretch on Saturday morning.
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1990: ‘A sleepy eyed Marilyn Lamonte rest her head over a 2 a.m. cup of coffee at the Morning Call. The Metairie beignet establishment is a favorite place for the late night crowd.’ (Original caption)
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1990: ‘Morning Call Coffee Stand’s Melvin Martin takes a smoke break around two on Saturday morning. Martin has worked at the stand since it was in the French Quarter.’ (Original caption)
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1990: ‘Morning Call Coffee Stand’s Melvin Martin takes a smoke break during a slow period in the wee hours on a Saturday morning.’ (Original caption)
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1990: ‘A man enters the Morning Call around 3 a.m. on a Saturday. The joint slows down after midnight, but it’s never empty. (Original caption)
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2008: Waiter Brian Gatzman stares out of the doorway at the Morning Call coffee stand on 17th Street in Metairie where a steady rain fell all morning.
1993: ‘Local author O’Neil DeNoux has written four mystery books and is working on his fifth. He began writing his first book at this counter at Morning Call in Metairie and still goes there to work. While at the Morning Call he works on notes dealing with the plot.’ (Original caption)
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2012: Morning Call in City Park opened in 2012.
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Charles Caswell brings the beignets at Morning Call Coffee Stand in 2013.
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Advocate staff photo by Ian McNulty – Beignets waiting to be sugared at the Morning Call Coffee Stand, a name that dates to 1870 in New Orleans.
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Morning Call in New Orleans City Park on Wednesday, November 14, 2018.
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Morning Call in New Orleans City Park on Wednesday, November 14, 2018.
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Morning Call in New Orleans City Park on Wednesday, November 14, 2018.
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Morning Call in New Orleans City Park on Wednesday, November 14, 2018.
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Jason Gibson with Signworx adds some touchup paint to the Morning Call neon sign in front of its new location at City Park Avenue and Canal Street in New Orleans on Thursday, January 28, 2021. The sign weighs 600 pounds and measures 10 feet by 7 feet. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
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As streetcar passes as Troy Russell with Signworx installs the Morning Call neon sign in front of its new location at City Park Avenue and Canal Street in New Orleans on Thursday, January 28, 2021. The sign weighs 600 pounds and measures 10 feet by 7 feet. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
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Staff photo by Ian McNulty – Morning Call Coffee Stand opened on Canal Boulevard after two years without a location. The cafe, known for beignets and cafe au lait, goes back to 1870 in the French Market.
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Staff photo by Ian McNulty – Morning Call Coffee Stand opened on Canal Boulevard after two years without a location. The cafe, known for beignets and cafe au lait, goes back to 1870 in the French
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Staff photo by Ian McNulty – Aaron Mendoza, age two and a half years, sips from his father Roberto’s coffee mug at Morning Call Coffee Stand, while his mother Eunice and his sisters Elise and Cherie look on. The family, along with their third daughter Aurora (not pictured), visited the cafe on its first weekend back in business.
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Staff photo by Ian McNulty – At Morning Call Coffee Stand, customers add their own powdered sugar at the table, and many pair them with a cafe au lait. The cafe, with a history going back to 1870, reopened in a new Canal Boulevard location.
