
Café du Monde ( or 'the People's Café') is a renowned open-air
coffee shop located on
Decatur Street 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 ...
of
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
,
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
, United States. It is a New Orleans landmark and tourist destination, known for its ''
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
beignets. Its coffee with
chicory is widely available in the continental United States.
History
The French brought
coffee
Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
with them as they began to settle along the
Gulf Coast
The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...
and the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
, circa 1700. During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, the New Orleans
Creoles developed the
chicory-blended coffee (as there was a coffee shortage) — which has continued to be served at Café Du Monde and other New Orleans restaurants. Chicory adds a chocolate-like flavor to
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 ...
.
The
Acadians
The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...
(
Cajuns
The Cajuns (; Louisiana French language, French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French people, Louisiana French ethnic group, ethnicity mainly found in t ...
) from
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
brought other French customs, such as the
beignet, to Louisiana in the 18th century. Unlike most
doughnuts
A doughnut or donut () is a type of pastry made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franch ...
, beignets are squared pieces of dough with no hole in the middle and are most often covered with
powdered sugar
Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar and icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent—such as corn starch, potato ...
. Sometimes they are seen served with fruit, jam, maple syrup, or even
savory items. At Café du Monde, the beignets are served with a thick coating of powdered sugar and sold in orders of three.
Café Du Monde is the oldest coffee shop in New Orleans, opening as a simple coffee stand in 1862. Its simple menu has changed little since that era, still including dark-roasted coffee with chicory (served black or au lait), beignets, white and chocolate milk, hot chocolate, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Sodas and iced coffee are more recent additions. According to the Café du Monde's vice-president, Burton E. Benrud Jr., the beignets remain the only food item on the French Market location's menu; and Café Du Monde is committed to "keeping things the way they've always been: recipes have gone relatively unchanged."
Post-Katrina
Due to
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
, the shop closed at midnight on August 27, 2005. Although it suffered only minor damage, it remained closed for nearly two months. Owners took advantage of the low-traffic interval afterwards to refurbish the eating areas and kitchens. Six weeks after the hurricane, Café Du Monde began promoting its re-opening as a sign that the city's recovery had begun. Over 100 news media outlets, including ABC-TV's ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
'', reported on the re-opening. The French Quarter location reopened on October 19, 2005, to national media attention.
Locations
"The Butcher's Hall" is the name of the original building at the French Market site where the Café Du Monde is located. It was built by
the Spanish in 1791; however, it was damaged by
a hurricane in 1812. A new market building went up in 1813. The coffee stand was established at the upriver end of the French Market in 1862.
For over a century, Café Du Monde was one of two similar coffee-and-beignet places in the Market, the other being
Morning Call, which was established in 1870 and moved out of the old French Market in 1974 to the suburban area of
Metairie. After losing its lease in Metairie, Morning Call eventually moved into a large facility in New Orleans' City Park where several years later Café du Monde displaced them and gained another lucrative venue, despite having to pay a considerable fee to the City of New Orleans for the location.
Starting in the late 1980s, Café Du Monde opened additional locations in
shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...
s. There are a total of nine Café du Monde coffee stand locations in the New Orleans metropolitan area: the original located in the French Market at 800
Decatur Street, Riverwalk Marketplace, Esplanade Mall, Lakeside Mall, Oakwood Mall, Veterans Boulevard,
Mandeville,
Covington, City Park in New Orleans, and New Orleans
Louis Armstrong International Airport.
Japanese franchise
After the
1984 Louisiana World Exposition in New Orleans, Café Du Monde was approached by Japanese businesses interested in expanding the brand to Japan. In 1989 the Duskin Company formally contacted Café Du Monde, and a franchise agreement was agreed in time for Duskin to open its first Japanese outlets in 1990. The franchise expanded to a peak of 32 locations.
For the most part, the Japanese Café Du Monde franchise kept the same aesthetic as the original locations: green and white color scheme and the style of French Quarter architecture. Unlike the Café Du Monde stores in Louisiana, the Japan franchise expanded the original menu by adding different varieties of beignets, but the Café Du Monde coffee with chicory stayed the same. Along with their varieties of beignet toppings, the Japanese franchise also offered seasonal desserts, which are not offered at Café Du Monde in Louisiana.
However, as of 2016 there were only 10 locations in Japan. In early 2018, Duskin ended the business relationship, closing all Café Du Monde locations in Japan on March 31, 2018.
Products
Since the early 1990s, Café du Monde coffee can generally be purchased in independent East Asian grocery stores and markets across the Continental United States. Following the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, many refugees from the country arrived in the United States, and were accustomed to French-style chicory coffee, a legacy they had in common with Louisiana from the French Colonial era. As more families began to settle in cities around the Gulf Coast, in time many Vietnamese in the New Orleans area began to frequent Café du Monde, as well as work there. Many in this community would send the characteristic orange-yellow tins of Café Du Monde coffee to family and friends around the country, as an alternative to American coffee which lacked chicory and gradually this began to be stocked by markets catering to this demographic. A packaged Café du Monde beignet mix is also available.
In popular culture
Café Du Monde has appeared in multiple fictional depictions of the city including the "Dave Robicheaux" series of novels by
James Lee Burke, and novels by
John Connolly,
Adam Gnade,
Poppy Z. Brite
William Joseph Martin (born May 25, 1967), formerly Poppy Z. Brite, is an American author. He initially achieved fame in the Gothic fiction, gothic horror genre of literature in the early 1990s by publishing a string of successful novels and shor ...
,
Sherrilyn Kenyon,
Anne Rice
Anne Rice (born Howard Allen Frances O'Brien; October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021) was an American author of Gothic fiction, erotic literature, and Bible fiction. She is best known for writing ''The Vampire Chronicles''. She later adapted t ...
,
Kresley Cole, David Morrell, and
Nancy A. Collins. The café as it appeared in 1955 can be seen in an extended sequence in the
William Castle
William Castle (born William Schloss Jr.; April 24, 1914 – May 31, 1977) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is known for the horror film, horror and thriller film, thriller B movie, B-movies he directed durin ...
film ''
New Orleans Uncensored''; and as it appeared pre-Katrina in two scenes of the 2003 movie ''
Runaway Jury''.
The business is sung about in the 1974
Jimmy Buffett
James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...
song, "
The Wino and I Know." In a 2009 episode of ''
Man v. Food'' centered in New Orleans, the restaurant is visited by
Adam Richman. In the 2013 movie ''
Now You See Me'', the character Merritt McKinney played by
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor. He first became known for his role as bartender Woody Boyd on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1985–1993), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in ...
performs his magic tricks inside the café. In addition, it is featured multiple times in the TV series ''
Tremé''. Café Du Monde is prominently featured as a destination spot in the 2014 film ''
Chef
A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...
'', directed by and starring
Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia Favreau ( ; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
.
The business also appeared in one of “The Simpsons” episodes.
The business is also mentioned in the
Marcus King song "Too Much Whiskey".
Gallery
File:Café du Monde in New Orleans (19).JPG, Beignets can be seen being made through the back window in the French Quarter location.
File:Cafe du Monde canned coffee chicory blend.jpg, Classic tin of Café du Monde coffee with chickory.
File:Café du Monde beignet mix, front.jpg, Café du Monde beignet mix.
File:Café du Monde beignet mix, back.jpg, History and beignet mix instructions.
See also
*
French Market
*
List of doughnut shops
Doughnut shops (also spelled donut shops) specialize in the preparation and retail sales of doughnuts. A doughnut is a type of fried dough pastry, deep-fried from a flour dough, and typically either ring-shaped or without a hole and often filled ...
*
List of Louisiana Creole restaurants
References
External links
Café du Monde
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cafe Du Monde
1862 establishments in Louisiana
Articles containing video clips
Bakeries of Louisiana
Bakery cafés
Coffee brands
Coffeehouses and cafés in the United States
Doughnut shops in the United States
French Quarter
Landmarks in Louisiana
Louisiana Creole restaurants in the United States
Restaurants established in 1862
Restaurants in New Orleans