No trip to New Orleans is complete without waking up early in the morning (or stumbling from a long night out) and heading to Caf‹¨ Du Monde for some fresh coffee and beignets. It’s a tradition that’s held for years.
Now Starkville is getting its own taste of France with the opening of The Coffee District. Located on University Drive right next to Up Your Alley, The Coffee District looks to add a bit of upper-class flair to the Cotton District.
Started by Tony Thompson and Brian Kelley, The Coffee District is the first coffee house to offer beignets in Starkville.
The idea came about in a fairly simple way. Kelley and Thompson love coffee. They are also two budding businessmen. Kelley is a local lawyer who has a stake in the new Italian eatery and bar BIN 612, and Thompson just opened up the GourMae grocery store (between BIN 612 and The Grill on Maxwell Street).
“They loved coffee but didn’t really know much about coffee shops,” manager Lora Duggan said. “I applied, and since I have worked at several coffee shops before, they hired me on as the manager.”
But it’s not just lattes and French desserts.
“Since Brian owns part of BIN 612, they make us gourmet sandwiches and muffins,” Duggan said.
They also offer an array of Ben ‘n’ Jerry’s ice cream, blended drinks and teas.
However, Starkville hasn’t been the friendliest of places to local coffee shops. In the past eight years, plenty have come and gone. So what does The Coffee District have that others don’t?
According to Duggan, its menu and location.
“We’re the first to serve beignets,” she said. “We also have a great location. We’re on University Drive, so we get a good population of students coming and going to class.”
Having just opened, they hope the location will allow for greater visibility and recognition.
“Once people see we’re open for business, the rush will hopefully pick up,” Duggan said.
The future holds a lot of promise as well. The Coffee District and its neighbor Up Your Alley, the tamale and margarita bar, are housed in similar “sister” buildings that offer shops on the first floor with apartments above them.
“They’re also building two more right behind us,” Duggan said. “They will both have a restaurant or something similar on the bottom with apartments on top.”
The constantly-budding Cotton District, with its high volume of foot traffic, can only mean increased businesses as well.
The d‹¨cor and design don’t hurt, either. Coupled with an open front porch, the interior offers tall windows and is adorned with the photography of Duggan herself. It all combines to create the effect of a small but quaint country cottage.