Morning Call Coffee Stand got its start in the historic French Market and grew into a fixture of New Orleans flavor. Now, Morning Call is marking the first step of its return with a stand across the lake in Hammond.

Morning Call will have a location at Streetside Market (201 W. Thomas St., Hammond), a new concept combining different cuisines in downtown Hammond. Streetside Market is slated to officially open Sept. 9, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Morning Call will serve its signature items here next to dishes ranging from wood-fired pizza to poke bowls. While the format will be different from past Morning Call incarnations, co-owner Bob Hennessey said people will find familiar touchstones, starting with beignets made with a sourdough mix and French drip coffee poured from kettles.

“There’s training going on now — people learning how to do it our way,” said Hennessey. “It’s old school, but that’s the way we like to do things.”

John Wong is one of the owners of Streetside Market and part of the north shore's Trey Yuen restaurant family.

"We really appreciate them coming to join us here. It's exciting," Wong said.

The feeling is mutual over for Morning Call.

Morning Call has been homeless since February, after closing its longtime Metairie cafe in 2018 and losing the lease to its City Park location. Fellow beignet slinger Café du Monde won a public bid process for that City Park concession and opened its own location in the Casino Building in July after a thorough renovation.

Hennessey said plans are taking shape for a Morning Call in New Orleans, which would be part of a proposed new development at Canal Boulevard and City Park Avenue. That project is also slated to include a new location of Bud’s Broiler, the local hamburger chain that until last year operated its oldest location down just down City Park Avenue. Developer Paul Dorsey said the overall project is now progressing through the city review process.

Morning Call traces its history back to the French Market in 1870, when the market was a hub for the city’s food supply system. The stand served coffee and snacks to vendors and shoppers. It moved from the French Quarter to Metairie in 1974 and, for a generation, was part of the landscape around Lakeside Mall. But this café closed in 2018, when Hennessey cites higher rents and changing competition in the area.

Losing the City Park space meant the historic brand was out of action. But Hennessey has insisted all along that while it was down, Morning Call was not out and would return.

Since closing in City Park, Morning Call has conducted a pair of pop-up style appearances at the Fair Grounds Race Course, serving coffee and beignets during races. It’s also done private catering, and Hennessey said he’s been working on a retail product line for beignet mix and bagged coffee, with label designs now in progress.

Streetside Market

201 W. Thomas St., Hammond

Official opening Sept. 9, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily

+6 Will Morning Call, Bud's Broiler soon return to New Orleans? See plans for Canal Boulevard building Morning Call Coffee Stand and Bud’s Broiler, two storied names in local food, may soon each make their return to New Orleans in a new multi-us…

+15 Historic French Quarter restaurant Old Coffee Pot is back, and so are the calas Beignets are on the bucket list for plenty of New Orleans visitors. The quest for calas, however, often starts with someone who remembers when…