Coffee in New Orleans (Metairie, Thibodaux: hotel, neighborhood, living)

[whatisthedealwith]

I just spent a few weeks in your lovely city-- I am a native NYCer, for good or ill, currently living on the West Coast (thank the stars!) You all got a great little town-- good on you! Looking forward to coming back. It got under my skin in a big way.

Anyway, I noted a distinct lack of Starbucks. Seems like the French Quarter, touristy as it is, would have at least one. There seems to be lots of local coffee options like Community and PJs. Any word on why Sbux is "out"? My current location has one on every corner just about. No offense to the local brew-- its pretty damn good. Just sometimes you crave that burnt coffee taste....

[124c41]

My Daddy was from Louisiana, and drank Seaport coffee off and on for many years. If I remember it's got a boat on the package. I believe it's made in Louisiana. It's fair as coffee goes, but if you want a " burnt" coffee taste, next time you're there grab a cup of that. I think it's got chicory in it and that gives it that taste. I tried drinking it here and there and couldn't handle it. But to each their own. The world wouldn't be exciting if we all lived the same.

[tinalimey]

I don't know why there are so few Starbucks, probably as you suggested because there are many great local options for coffee. I'm fortunate to live close to a Starbucks though - I love them too.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

There are some in the suburbs, I used to go to one in Metairie. As far as the city, I think any tourist locations would have zoning in place that would not permit their usual large logo on the exterior (but I'm just guessing here). People in N.O. are devoted to all things local.

[Sooz_T]

I spotted a Starbucks on Magazine St. the other day, on my way to Community Coffee.

[rcp11889]

Originally Posted by whatisthedealwith

I just spent a few weeks in your lovely city-- I am a native NYCer, for good or ill, currently living on the West Coast (thank the stars!) You all got a great little town-- good on you! Looking forward to coming back. It got under my skin in a big way.

Anyway, I noted a distinct lack of Starbucks. Seems like the French Quarter, touristy as it is, would have at least one. There seems to be lots of local coffee options like Community and PJs. Any word on why Sbux is "out"? My current location has one on every corner just about. No offense to the local brew-- its pretty damn good. Just sometimes you crave that burnt coffee taste....

We don't have Starbuck's because we have a LARGE amount of local coffee places even besides Pj's or Community Coffee (CC's). Just in the Riverbend for example, I can think of 3 independent coffee shops just off the top of my head. We have a couple Starbuck's but there aren't many. New Orleanians staunchly fought against building a Starbucks across from Cafe du Monde right after Katrina. The same would happen in any neighborhood really.

In the words of my father..."why would I give money to some corporation in New York if we can keep the money locally". A LOT of New Orleanians think like this and it is one of the main reasons why we are one of the last places in America that have not been homogeonized by globalization and national/international chains. I was in Washington, DC this past week and I loved it. But, there were so many chains I couldn't figure out what the local flavor was.

[confusedasusual]

One of the things that makes New Orleans unique is its local flavor. Its one of the only places in the US that still maintains a distinct regional identity and I love that.

BUT...

I do also love Starbucks! A few more wouldn't bring down the "vibe" at all. We have McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, etc. There is a huge Walmart in town. Maybe not right across from Cafe Du Mond. I get that objection. But I can see both sides of the issue.

And as for DC, there is very little "local flavor" to be had anymore. DC is a prime example of what not to do to maintain your identity as a city. Its changeable by nature-- influxes of a whole new political population every few years. Great place, but very "chain-y." I lived there for over a decade and saw the shifts first hand. Its hard to know where to draw the line.

[Roller2200]

Theres a Starbucks on Canal St. inside the Sheraton Hotel. All the other ones I saw were in Jefferson Parish.

[Jimbo_1]

I went on starbucks.com and they show about 7 in the CBD but I think they are mostly in hotel lobbies or in the Convention center or maybe it is just wrong. But one of them is in the shopping area at Canal Place. Then there is also one on Harrison Avenue in Lakeview and the one at Magazine and Washington which was already mentioned I believe. I also think they used to have one at Magazine and Nashville but it closed a few years ago. There also was/is? one at Maple and Adams Street Uptown.

But I would rather just go to CC's, PJ's, or the other two places that are close to where I live.

The "buy local" thing is pretty popular and even stores that are somewhat chains like Rouses Supermarket (or The Rouse like my family calls it) cash in on it with this whole "buy local" advertisement campaign even though they operate around 40 stores in both South Louisiana and Mississippi but are based in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

[tinalimey]

Originally Posted by Roller2200

Theres a Starbucks on Canal St. inside the Sheraton Hotel. All the other ones I saw were in Jefferson Parish.

Is there one in the Sheraton? I know there's one in the Marriot, we took full advantage of it when we stayed there a couple of years ago before we moved here.

There's also a Starbucks in the Marriot in Metairie.

The Maple/Adams Starbucks is definitely still there, I go there every Saturday!