WEBVTT - Café du Monde

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<v Speaker 1>And we returned to our American stories. In the heart

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<v Speaker 1>of New Orleans, Louisiana. By the way, I got married

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<v Speaker 1>in that beautiful city is a long standing tradition in

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<v Speaker 1>the form of a coffee shop. If you're familiar with

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<v Speaker 1>the New Orleans you know, of course we're talking about

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<v Speaker 1>Cafe Dumont. The original Cafe Dumont was established as a

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<v Speaker 1>coffee stand in eighteen sixty two and has since remained

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<v Speaker 1>open twenty four hours a day, seven days a week,

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<v Speaker 1>with the exception of Christmas Day or the occasional hurricane.

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<v Speaker 1>Here is Emily Aeger with the story of this famous

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<v Speaker 1>coffee shop, and this one we're doing on location, so

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<v Speaker 1>you will have to be dealing with the sounds and

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<v Speaker 1>the feel of being in Cafe Dumont.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, a lot of people will pay some good

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<v Speaker 2>money to go to a jazz bronch bed. You can

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<v Speaker 2>come here in spendary seventy five and get just as

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<v Speaker 2>good of an experience in my opinion. So I guess

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<v Speaker 2>it's kind of a complicated answer about when I started

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<v Speaker 2>working here. My mom's grandfather bought the business in nineteen

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<v Speaker 2>forty two, so partly I've been involved since I was born.

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<v Speaker 3>Both my parents work here and my brother and.

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<v Speaker 2>My husband now so been around it my whole life.

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<v Speaker 2>So what we're sitting here in right now is formally

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<v Speaker 2>called the French Market. Before it was the French Market,

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<v Speaker 2>it was actually a meat market and a mile of

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<v Speaker 2>it was all open market. Obviously, it's very warm, so

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<v Speaker 2>that couldn't last for a while, and the meat market

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<v Speaker 2>slowly turned into closer to what it is at the

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<v Speaker 2>end of the French Market building, which is like little

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<v Speaker 2>stands that people would buy and vegetable, you know, produce meat, arts, crafts.

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<v Speaker 2>We have a lot of different cultures kind of welded

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<v Speaker 2>together here in New Orleans, so it's a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>different arts and crafts that people sell in the market.

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<v Speaker 2>And then they started to, you know, turn into more

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<v Speaker 2>of like the formal retail stores in like the nineteen sixties.

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<v Speaker 2>And so Kappey Deman was originally started in eighteen sixty

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<v Speaker 2>two and we were one of the little coffee stamps.

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<v Speaker 2>So Capit Deman is French for coffee of the world,

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<v Speaker 2>and it was the coffee served in the eighteen hundreds

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<v Speaker 2>and we've served it since then. The people that built

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<v Speaker 2>this building, that's the Spanish, and then the French came

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<v Speaker 2>shortly after this Manas, which was why we get those

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<v Speaker 2>melts of culture here, and the French, specifically the Acadians

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<v Speaker 2>brought the venne over. You know, everybody always asked about

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<v Speaker 2>our coffee and chickory blend. That blend is due to

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<v Speaker 2>the World War, so coffee was really hard to ship over,

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<v Speaker 2>especially the French blend type coffee. And so they started

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<v Speaker 2>blending chickory, which comes from the root of an end

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<v Speaker 2>dog plant, and they started blending the chickery to add

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<v Speaker 2>in because it has a similar coffee taste, but it's

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<v Speaker 2>not coffee, so it was kind of a substitute to

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<v Speaker 2>give it that coffee taste while kind of halfing the coffee.

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<v Speaker 2>And now it's a lot of people's preference mine included.

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<v Speaker 2>People love the coffee chickery taste. So we started with

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<v Speaker 2>the coffee and they would have bread served with the coffee.

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<v Speaker 2>Coffee and New Orleans is an all day, everyday thing.

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<v Speaker 2>We start and end our day with coffee, and so

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<v Speaker 2>it just kind of turned into the breads and stuff

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<v Speaker 2>turned into the vegnet when the French brought it over,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's now I would say the vegnet is the

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<v Speaker 2>staple of New Orleans. So all of our venees are handmade,

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<v Speaker 2>and as soon as they're made, they get fried, so

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<v Speaker 2>we never we never refrigerate or freeze.

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<v Speaker 3>Everything is made on the spot.

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<v Speaker 2>And of course it's the only food item that we sell,

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<v Speaker 2>so we're just constantly making it. That's all we do

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<v Speaker 2>all day long, is make begnets. So the begnet started,

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<v Speaker 2>I couldn't even give you an exact age. I want

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<v Speaker 2>to say it was the early nineteen hundreds and it

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<v Speaker 2>said that of coffee and begnets has just become the

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<v Speaker 2>smart thing.

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<v Speaker 3>To do in New Orleans. And obviously it's a very

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<v Speaker 3>simple food. It's fried dough.

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<v Speaker 2>With powdered sugar on top, and I think the environment

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<v Speaker 2>brings a lot of what makes it great, but also

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<v Speaker 2>that we handmake it every day and it's fresh and

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<v Speaker 2>hot and comforting.

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<v Speaker 3>This wasn't probably the best place for.

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<v Speaker 2>Business if you'd asked somebody back in the eighteen hundreds before,

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<v Speaker 2>when the river wasn't managed by engineers, and it's you know,

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<v Speaker 2>our core of engineers here in New Orleans arrived and followed.

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<v Speaker 2>It was pretty steady. So back in the eighteen hundreds

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<v Speaker 2>when they built this building. If you would have told

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<v Speaker 2>them that this is like the epicenter of tourism, they

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<v Speaker 2>would have probably discourage that strong point. But with Jackson

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<v Speaker 2>Square in the cathedral obviously there, you know, we have

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<v Speaker 2>multiple things that are fun to see when you come

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<v Speaker 2>to New Orleans. I think this is probably what we're

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<v Speaker 2>best known for us is right right in the heart

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<v Speaker 2>of the French Quarter, right here where we are. I

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<v Speaker 2>feel like we just we give an atmosphere that's nice

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<v Speaker 2>to come to. We take care of our customers. We truly,

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<v Speaker 2>we truly like to see you know, people's first experience

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<v Speaker 2>with beignets and coffee. Love to see people, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>get their first beignet. It's exciting for us. So I

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<v Speaker 2>think the magic isn't lost on us, and so we're excited,

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<v Speaker 2>and I think it gives an exciting place to come to.

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<v Speaker 3>You know.

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<v Speaker 2>Obviously, we've put a lot of hard work. A lot

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<v Speaker 2>of our family truly cares about the business and all

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<v Speaker 2>of our employees, so it's it's been a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>hard work. But also I think we're very lucky and

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<v Speaker 2>fortunate that you know, people enjoy coming here and we're

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<v Speaker 2>able to recover from them. You know, many things that

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<v Speaker 2>do happen in our city that make it hard. We're

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<v Speaker 2>we're look to a lot. When everybody closes after a hurricane,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, when when are we opening back up? When

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<v Speaker 2>is the city going to get started? And we don't

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<v Speaker 2>take that responsibility lightly.

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<v Speaker 3>It means a lot of time.

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<v Speaker 2>So I would love to say that, you know, we

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<v Speaker 2>did that solo, but that's definitely not true. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>it's those guys right there on the street playing music

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<v Speaker 2>and all these people in here bringing you know, they're different,

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<v Speaker 2>different parts of themselves. Hyping New Orleans just makes people

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<v Speaker 2>feel welcome.

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<v Speaker 3>We have that culture here.

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<v Speaker 2>That kind of welcomes everybody, and that has everything to

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<v Speaker 2>do with the city itself. We definitely cannot take the

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<v Speaker 2>credit for that, but we're happy to be a part

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<v Speaker 2>of it. Because we're only closed on Christmas Day, we

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<v Speaker 2>become a lot of people's holiday traditions. You know, people

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<v Speaker 2>come every year from our to grow and they bring

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<v Speaker 2>that next group of people that's ready to come.

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<v Speaker 3>To the city. Thanksgiving is a huge day for us.

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<v Speaker 3>People are in town.

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<v Speaker 2>They want to bring their family from all over the

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<v Speaker 2>world and have them come experience Beignet's. And that's so

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<v Speaker 2>cool to us, you know, we love seeing that. I

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<v Speaker 2>think just being here for so long has given us.

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<v Speaker 3>The opportunity to see that.

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<v Speaker 2>There was a woman who lives here who got displaced

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<v Speaker 2>after Katrina and came back recently, and I was talking

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<v Speaker 2>to her while she was winning at line, and she

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<v Speaker 2>was saying.

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<v Speaker 3>That, like, it didn't really feel like she.

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<v Speaker 2>Was back home because so much of her neighborhood has changed,

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<v Speaker 2>so much of her friends and family have moved in

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<v Speaker 2>other places, but she has been here forever, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>so she was like, it was like, I'm back home.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm sitting, I'm having my coffee.

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<v Speaker 3>In my mug. I played at Bennette.

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<v Speaker 2>She's like, I feel I'm home, which is you know,

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<v Speaker 2>like that's such a gift to give somebody.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm feeling I'm being home again.

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<v Speaker 2>That was definitely a cool experience. Of course, I love

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<v Speaker 2>to see the toddlers kicking their feet in the green

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<v Speaker 2>chairs awaiting the bag of Beignet's, you know, because it

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<v Speaker 2>always results in just eyebrows, hair clothes, toes.

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<v Speaker 3>Fingers covered and powdered sugar and it's adorable, you know.

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<v Speaker 3>So I love that. But hearing those other stories. You know,

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<v Speaker 3>it's tocual.

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<v Speaker 2>So one fun fact about us is, not only does

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<v Speaker 2>our family have a lot of history and a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of a lot of I guess, hands in the pot,

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<v Speaker 2>you'd say here, but we also have a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>families that work alongside our family. We have families that

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<v Speaker 2>have two and three generations that work together both here

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<v Speaker 2>and at some of our branch locations. And they've been

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<v Speaker 2>with our family, you know, some of them over forty years.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think having that family atmosphere makes a huge difference,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, I think it makes her a great place

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<v Speaker 2>to work, at least I hope it does.

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<v Speaker 3>Like I said, I used to go to work with

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<v Speaker 3>my dad and my mom when I was a kid.

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<v Speaker 2>And Mom i'd help, you know, the little duties.

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<v Speaker 3>I know what he wants to do.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, now my dad and I sit, our deaths

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<v Speaker 2>are right and cross with each other. My first cousin

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<v Speaker 2>sits ten feet from me, and I have you know,

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<v Speaker 2>six others that work alongside me. It's it's special, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>it's special to work with family you can sit from called.

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<v Speaker 3>Of course, but.

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<v Speaker 2>I think it's definitely a privilege to work so close

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<v Speaker 2>with her. You know, all all the people that love you,

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<v Speaker 2>and along with people who've known my entire life because

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<v Speaker 2>I was here as a toddler. We joked one of

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<v Speaker 2>the ladies that's Kim has been here, I think over

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<v Speaker 2>fifty years, you know, So she saw me grow up,

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<v Speaker 2>and now she sees my son come in here, and

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<v Speaker 2>she's grabbing his cheeks, you know, and so excited. And

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<v Speaker 2>she picked him up and she was like, you're gonna

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<v Speaker 2>be my boss one day, you know, like, which is

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<v Speaker 2>just so funny. He's three years old, so so's funny,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, to have that kind of environment, work in

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<v Speaker 2>that kind of environment. But of course, yeah, we would love,

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<v Speaker 2>we would love for our family to to be able

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<v Speaker 2>to continue those wonderful professions.

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<v Speaker 3>Wherever it's been a fun way to grow.

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<v Speaker 1>Up, it must indeed have been a great way to

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<v Speaker 1>grow up. You've been listening to Emily Yeger. Her family's

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<v Speaker 1>been running an institution in New Orleans, a cultural institution,

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<v Speaker 1>a culinary institution, Cafe Dumont, the original, and it's right

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<v Speaker 1>across the street from Jackson Square and right in the heart,

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<v Speaker 1>right in the heart of the French Quarter, in one

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<v Speaker 1>of America's great cities. And again a special thanks to

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<v Speaker 1>Emily Yeger for sharing her family story, the family business,

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<v Speaker 1>and a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling

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<v Speaker 1>by our own Madison Dericott. The story of Cafe Dumont,

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<v Speaker 1>Emily Yaeger and her family story here on our American

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<v Speaker 1>Stories