City Park Will Keep the Beignets, But Maybe Not Morning Call’s Beignets

The 148-year old Morning Call Coffee Stand may lose its right to operate in City Park’s “Casino Building,” where it’s been dishing out coffee and beignets since 2012. The one thing not in question: City Park will keep the coffee and beignets.

City Park officials recently opened bidding for the 10-year lease on the building to other coffee and beignet operations in hopes of increasing revenue for the park, which receives no tax money from the city. Now Cafe du Monde and Cafe Beignet are both vying for the lease, reports Ian McNulty.

The park unsealed the bids on Wednesday with plans to make a decision in the next month or two.

According to the report, Morning Call pledged more in rent than the other two beignet stands, but the bids also include “landscaping, build-out and decor, marketing and other aspects of their business plans,” which officials will consider in making the decision.

City Park’s Morning Call became the iconic brand’s only location after Metairie’s Morning Call shuttered last week (it operated there for more than four decades). Should Morning Call close its doors at City Park, it won’t remain without a home for long. The owners have already been looking at other locations.

• After 40 Years, Morning Call Shutters in Metairie [ENOLA]
• City Park Beignet Battle: Morning Call, Cafe du Monde, Cafe Beignet Competing for Bid [ADVOCATE]