Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans on August 29, 2021, knocking out power across the city. The damage was severe — roofs gone, trees down, no electricity, a water boil advisory. Most businesses stayed closed for weeks. CR Coffee reopened within a week.
Kevin and Ashley got generators running at the Magazine Street flagship and started brewing. The reasoning was simple: we do not fix roofs — we brew coffee. We were able, so we did. The shop ran on generator power, serving iced coffee and cold brew to first responders, neighbors, and anyone who needed a moment of normalcy in the middle of disaster recovery.
They blasted music out of the shop and tried to bring some energy to a neighborhood that was dealing with the aftermath of a Category 4 hurricane. First responders became regulars. Neighbors stopped by not just for coffee but for connection — a reminder that the community was still here.
Kevin has called reopening after Ida the most difficult and most personally rewarding thing they have ever done. It was not about revenue. It was about showing up when the city needed it. New Orleans is resilient, and CR Coffee proved that a coffee shop can be part of that resilience.
Visit CR Coffee
Three locations in New Orleans — Magazine Street, St. Roch Market, and Old Metairie.
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