A revamped café at the Historic New Orleans Collection offers light fare by favorite local bakeries and eateries – in one of New Orleans’ most beloved courtyards.
For those who find themselves unabashedly peering through iron fences to get a glimpse of a private, French Quarter courtyard, several historic buildings in the neighborhood offer delightful public courtyard experiences. While there are plenty to choose from, The Café at the Collection offers an enchanting, and historically-immersive lunch spot tucked inside the storied Seignouret-Brulatour Courtyard at 540 Royal Street – part of The Historic New Orleans Collection.
Built in 1816 by François Seignouret, a French furniture maker and wine importer, the Seignouret-Brulatour House is a local gem that was home to the Arts and Crafts Club and its New Orleans School of Art from 1921 – 1932. The space has inspired countless paintings, photographs and drawings even after the school moved on nearly a century ago.
The Historic New Orleans Collection purchased the property in 2006 and, with help from archaeologists and architects, have created a LEED-certified space (one of the most historic in the country!) that both maintains the building’s original character and incorporates a modern exhibition space for The Collection’s extensive collections and special shows.
Glowing in the center of the museum lies its golden heart, a large courtyard paved with multi-hued slate tiles and surrounded by second-story balconies. The café offers an opportunity to appreciate its beauty, all while relaxing at a table under a blessedly-shady umbrella.
Formerly home to Café Cour – a venture led by Dana and Christina Honn, the team behind Carmo in the Warehouse District – the revamped space reopened earlier this year as The Café at the Collection, offering specialty coffee drinks and light, grab ‘n’ go (or sit and appreciate) fare, highlighting bites from local vendors.
“We’re always adding vendors to our list.” says Courtney Chartier, THNOC’s General Manager of Retail, who’s also managing the Café. “We focus on being inclusive and buying from small businesses that are minority and/or women-owned.”
Crunch your way through a nutty sunflower seed and pepita salad loaded with fresh blueberries, cucumber and cherry tomatoes from Viola’s Heritage Breads, a farmers market pop-up launched by local pastry chef Carla Briggs and her partner Kathryn Conyers during the pandemic.
Visitors can also enjoy a chicken salad sandwich, a toasted sesame seed bagel with cream cheese, or a butter croissant from Gracious Bakery, a small, local bakery chain launched by executive chef Megan Forman and her husband Jay over a decade ago.
The Café also pulls espresso, lattes, mochas and cappuccinos with beans sourced from Mammoth Coffee Company, a boutique, small-batch roaster in the Warehouse District owned by Darlene and Jonathan Riethmaier. Chartier says that every part of the process – from growing to grinding – is sustainable, with workers who are fairly paid.
“We have a special blend, it’s called Double Trouble, with notes of milk chocolate, citrus and caramel,” says Chartier. “It’s a medium blend that’s wonderful year around and [we] offer it both hot and iced.”
There are several levels of people-watching at The Café, from folks roaming inside the museum through the courtyard’s large windows, to visitors strolling into the courtyard, possibly admiring the unique half-story Seignouret created to store his vast selection of wines. While sipping a creamy cappuccino, indulging in a cupcake from Ms. Barbs Bakery or a chocolate-dipped strawberry made by Alicia Jackson of AJ’s Treats, you’re bound to notice employees from nearby businesses coming for a bite during their break, lunch hour or for a late-morning caffeine pick-me-up – not surprising since the café offers a 15% discount to French Quarter employees.
“We’re an oasis in the middle of the Quarter,” Chartier says.
Visitors and locals alike can easily spend hours exploring THNOC’s latest exhibits, checking out the massive Aeolian organ and browsing in the gift shop – especially since the museum offers free admission.
And just around the corner at 410 Chartres Street, is a researcher’s heaven, the Williams Research Center, a library with original documents, manuscripts, and photographs, as well as over 35,000 library items, and more than 500,000 photographs, prints, drawings, and paintings.
The Café at the Collection is open whenever the museum is open: Tues. through Sat., 9:30am – 4:30pm and Sunday, 10:30 – 4:30pm.
“We’re all feeling passionate about the Café,” Chartier says. “It’s only going to get bigger and better.”
*Article originally published in French Quarter Journal in June 2024
** Lead image courtesy of The Historic New Orleans Collection
