Cafe Du Monde has been serving beignets and chicory coffee since 1862. Hubert Fernandez bought the stand in 1942 and his family has turned down every major franchising opportunity in the U.S. since — four generations saying no to money because they don't want beignets made wrong.
The chicory coffee exists because of blockades. Napoleon's Continental Blockade cut off real coffee from France in 1806. The French stretched their supply with roasted chicory root. French colonists brought the habit to Louisiana. Then during the Civil War, the Union blockaded New Orleans and the same workaround happened again. New Orleans is the only place that never stopped.
After the Vietnam War, Vietnamese refugees settled in New Orleans. Many worked at Cafe Du Monde. They discovered chicory coffee tasted like the robusta they drank back home — because both Louisiana and Vietnam were French colonies with the same coffee culture. Workers started brewing the blend with condensed milk. The recipe spread nat
ionwide. Today, Cafe Du Monde canned coffee is a staple in Asian grocery stores across the country.
The building was the Halle des Boucheries — the Meat Market — rebuilt in 1813 after a hurricane. The French Market surrounding it is the oldest continuously operating public market in America, on a site used for trade since before European colonization.
— From the tour: The French Quarter Cheat Co
