Morning Call's 'Glass Cube' May Come to Quarter

Morning Call beignet and coffee stand could be returning to the French Quarter after a decades-long hiatus. Danny Monteverde of The Advocate reports that The Vieux Carré Commission has given "conceptual approval" to a plan for a new Morning Call at Conti Street between N. Peters and Decatur, which is currently home to a small lot and a vacant gas station, which would be demolished and turned into... "essentially a glass cube."

Though the commission backs the plan, they've expressed concern for the glass cube? not over potential bird droppings (Have you seen the trees near that lot at dusk, people?), drunken moonings, toddler's slimy fingerprints, or random twerkers blasting Sir Mix-A-Lot's Put Em On The Glass from their cell phones (Obviously LOTS of Windex will be required for clean up)? but that the two-story modern building with a rooftop terrace and seating for 230 won't exactly fit in with the historic buildings in the Quarter.

Unfortunately, no pictures have been posted of the plan yet, so it's impossible to excuse the glass cube's beauty at this time. Bruce Eggler of the Times-Pic reports that the "transparent" glass cube will be "surrounded by a filigree of decorative metal work." Eggler also writes that the "owners also have proposed closing the short block of Conti that separates their site from Bienville Park."

Also according to Eggler, the commission staff tells him there have been at least six proposals in the past two years for redevelopment of the old service station site, but Morning Call's proposal stood out for its "defined client and more appropriate site response" crazy glass cube, y'all. Morning Call first opened a stand in the French Market in 1870, but moved to Metairie in the 1970s. A second location opened in City Park last year.

· Vieux Carre Panel Backs Morning Call Proposal [Advocate]
· Morning Call Coffee and Beignet Shop Could Soon Return to French Quarter [NOLA.com]
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