
3

"In City Park’s Casino Building, I was relieved to learn that the iconic beignet stand Morning Call — which has been serving beignets, coffee, and snacks there since 2012 — can remain while its lawsuit with the park plays out in court. Although Morning Call was supposed to move out by July 21 after the park opened the lease to bids in May, city officials decided it can stay; Morning Call had submitted the highest bid for the 10-year lease but the park awarded the lease to the second-highest bidder, Cafe du Monde, after Morning Call missed a mandatory meeting. Claiming the park acted wrongly, Morning Call filed a lawsuit and asked a judge to let it stay until the dispute is resolved; the judge didn’t have to intervene because park officials allowed the stand to remain. Losing this City Park location would have been a big blow — Morning Call closed its Metairie location at the end of April, making the City Park stand the last location for the 148-year-old beignet stand — and the owners say they will open another location elsewhere whether or not they win back the lease." - Stephanie Carter