NOLA just got its first drive-thru CC's

While we usually leave restaurant openings to our sister site, Eater, Curbed NOLA couldn’t pass this one up.

On Friday, December 9, a CC’s Coffee house franchise opened on the 2300 block of Canal Street. What make’s this Coffee house special, you might ask? It’s one of the first drive-thru coffee houses in the city.

Now open for business, the new cafe was approved by City Council in November of 2015 and cost $750,000 to construct. The 1,640 square foot building will have the capacity to serve 14 cars in its drive-thru. Alternatively, there are 10 parking spaces for those who are more inclined to stay at the cafe.

The CC’s Coffee House franchise, located at 2323 Canal Street, is owned by Anthony and Nicole Marullo. The duo also own The Original French Market Restaurant and bar, located on 1001 Decatur Street.

“In a city that invented the drive-through Daiquiri shop, it makes no sense that there were no drive-through coffee shops on this side of the river. We expect 70 percent of our business will come from the drive-through window,” said Nicole Marullo in a prepared statement.

The duo is considering expanding CC’s cafe’s with drive thru’s in Gentilly, New Orleans East and the Carrollton area. according to a Curbed NOLA Tip.

However, some Curbed New Orleans readers were not necessarily impressed with the new franchise.

“The problem isn’t really the drive thru,” Sapere21 commented, regarding the early rendering in Curbed NOLA’s initial coverage of the coffee house. “The CC’s should be allowed to have their drive thru but the building should blend in with the remaining century old homes on the block rather than standing out in cheap contrast,” they added.

The commenter pointed to the CC’s located on Esplanade Avenue in the Bayou St. John area, and how its architecture blends with the surrounding neighborhood.

ArchiSavant, another commenter on the early coverage of the franchise, agreed with the lack of architectural choice.

“What a lost opportunity for CC’s to construct an iconic image that is indicative of New Orleans instead of a bland corporate box easily at home in DesMoines. And the design need not be faux-historicist; a contemporary structure could succeed brilliantly,” they wrote.

In October of 2015, the CC’s cafe chain submitted a proposal to the City Planning Commission to build a new coffee house on 2323 Canal Street. The chain had to apply for a special permit to add a drive-thru.

The City Planning Commission voted 4-2 to allow the drive-thru coffee cafe, making it one of the first hometown coffee chain’s to be considered for a drive-thru. It was unanimously approved through City Council in November of 2015.

The new CC’s cafe is near the United Medical Center, the VA Medical Complex, Warren Easton High Schoo, and the Catholic Convent.

• A CC's Drive-Through: Too Suburban for Mid-City? [Curbed NOLA]
• Mid-City Drive-Through CC's Gets City Council Approval [Curbed NOLA]