Starbucks caused a stir last fall when the Seattle-based coffee giant shuttered its New Orleans flagship location at the corner of Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue, citing security concerns among the factors for the closure.
Now, New Orleans-based French Truck Coffee is taking over the space at 700 Canal St., in the ground floor of the historic Pickwick Club building.
Starbucks in downtown New Orleans at the corner of Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue on Thursday, September 15, 2022. Starbucks corporate said it is shutting this location because of security concerns. They announced in July they were concerned about security and safety at various big city locations. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
It's opening its own coffee shop here over the summer, and to French Truck Coffee founder Geoffrey Meeker, it’s also making a statement.
“I believe in New Orleans with all of its challenges, but more importantly all of the amazing things our city has: the people, the culture and the history,” said Meeker. “We say in our business, ‘It takes good people to make good coffee.’ In New Orleans, it takes good people to provide New Orleans hospitality. That’s what this city has, and we will be highlighting it in a way that big corporations simply don’t understand.”
Starbucks in downtown New Orleans at the corner of Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue on Thursday, September 15, 2022. Starbucks corporate said it is shut this location because of security concerns. They announced in July they were concerned about security and safety at various big city locations. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
The Starbucks closure made headlines in an atmosphere of growing angst over crime in the city. A few months prior, a coalition of businesses formed a new advocacy group to push City Hall to take more action. When a McDonald’s franchise just across Canal Street shut down a few months later, it only added to the sense of alarm. In May, the offshore transportation company Harvey Gulf International Marine said it was moving its headquarters from the Central Business District to Metairie out of employee safety concerns.
The view of Canal Street out the window of Starbucks at the corner of St. Charles Avenue on Thursday, September 15, 2022. Starbucks corporate said it is shutting this location because of security concerns. They announced in July they were concerned about security and safety at various big city locations. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Meeker, however, sees promising opportunity in the downtown location and a way to affirm the value of local businesses for the city.
This part of downtown has been seeing major changes and redevelopments. The Audubon Aquarium and its newly relocated Insectarium just debuted this month a few blocks down Canal Street. That’s very close to the 2-year-old Four Seasons luxury hotel, with its own cluster of amenities in the former World Trade Center, and Harrah’s Casino, which is well into its $325 million transformation into a Caesars casino. A forthcoming restaurant from celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, Emeril’s Brasserie, is slated to open in the casino late this year.
Starbucks at the corner of Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue on Thursday, September 15, 2022. Starbucks corporate said it is shutting this location because of security concerns. They announced in July they were concerned about security and safety at various big city locations. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
Closer to his own doors, Meeker is excited about the new, 40-room boutique hotel that Rubenstein’s is developing on the floors above its clothing store, just across St. Charles Avenue from the forthcoming French Truck.
This will be the 11th location for French Truck. Meeker started the business in 2012 in his kitchen with home coffee roasting equipment and a passion for giving coffee the same respect and treatment that chefs pay to their other culinary ingredients and wine.
Advocate staff photo by JOHN McCUSKER -- Geoffrey Meeker, owner of French Truck Coffee in the business's iconic truck.
It takes its name from the yellow Citroën delivery truck that he used to make deliveries in the early days. Today, Meeker runs the company in partnership with Bobby Winston.
Advocate staff photo by JOHN McCUSKER -- Customer Anita Kimmons visits with the cat that hangs around French Truck Coffee Co.
French Truck has cafés, which offer full restaurant menus, and coffee shops, which focus on drinks and quick items from the counter. The new Canal Street location will follow the shop model, though Meeker says it will likely have more sandwiches and grab and go food items in the future.
Renovations to the Canal Street location are progressing toward a planned opening later this summer.
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