City Park Goes Back to Square One in Bidding War Over its Beignet Stand Lease

The battle to sell beignets at City Park will continue, according to a statement park officials released today. While Morning Call will keep operating out of the space for now, the park is re-opening the bidding process to find the next tenant.

Earlier this summer, City Park opened bidding for the beignet shop in the Casino Building that Morning Call has occupied since 2012. Three shops — Morning Call, Cafe du Monde, and Cafe Beignet — all bid, Morning Call’s being the highest by a small margin. While Cafe du Monde’s bid was slightly lower than Morning Call’s, its bid ultimately won the lease because City Park officials disqualified Morning Call because it missed a meeting that was deemed mandatory.

Morning Call subsequently filed suit against City Park over the location. In mid-August, a judge nullified the lease City Park had awarded Cafe du Monde — and the bidding process itself. The judge said that none of the beignet shops had fully followed the bidding requirements.

City Park doesn’t agree with the judge’s ruling and will “redraft the bid specifications to address the concerns of the Court and put the lease out to bid as soon as possible,” according to the statement.

Stakes are high for Morning Call: The 148-year old coffee stand closed it’s other remaining location just the month before bidding initially opened. If Morning Call in City Park closes, Morning Call won’t have any locations left, though owners do promise to reopen somewhere.

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• Tracking What’s Going With the Beignet Stand at City Park [ENOLA]
• After 40 Years, Morning Call Shutters in Metairie [ENOLA]