Congregation Coffee Resurrected in New Orleans

Inside the new Congregation Coffee bar in Uptown New Orleans. All images courtesy of Congregation Coffee.

Under new ownership, Congregation Coffee is back at it in New Orleans with a sleek new Uptown gathering place. 

The cafe held a grand opening last month welcoming guests into the approximately 1,200-square-foot space beneath a vintage tin ceiling. 

The shop blends the coffee company’s laid-back aesthetic with the historic charm of its 1890s Victorian building. Original hardwood floors flow toward crisp white and starburst tiles behind the bar, where natural wood slats frame green alligator-skin-inspired tiles — a playful nod to Congregation’s branding.

“We wanted to highlight the tin ceiling, and close-to-original wood floors, while bringing in some of our design elements,” Congregation Coffee’s new owner, Patrick Brennan, told DCN. “We used a lot of wood to make the place feel warm.”

Warm pendant lighting illuminates black stone counters and art deco booth dividers, where customers can sip on Congregation’s signature blends and rotating single-origin coffees. Ralph Brennan Bakery — part of a restaurant group run by Patrick Brennan’s family — supplies fresh pastries and sweets.

This opening marks Congregation’s first major expansion since Brennan bought the company out of bankruptcy in October 2023. Founded in 2015 by Eliot Guthrie and Ian Barrilleaux, the coffee brand had built momentum with locations in Algiers Point and the Central Business District before the pandemic derailed growth. The CBD location closed permanently in 2020, and operations ceased entirely by spring 2023.

Brennan, a longtime customer who discovered Congregation while upgrading the Brennan’s restaurant coffee program in 2016, moved quickly after the acquisition. He reopened the Algiers Point cafe by Thanksgiving 2023 and restored roasting operations using the company’s two San Franciscan roasters.

Head roaster Zoe Underhill, who started as a barista in 2018, continues to oversee production and green coffee buying.

In Uptown, Underhill’s roasts now pass through Nuova Simonelli Mythos Clima Pro grinders on their way to extraction on a La Marzocco Linea PB espresso machine. A Wilbur Curtis G4 Twin setup turns out big batches of brew while manual pourovers pass through Kalita Wave drippers.

“We wanted the new shop to feel as comfortable and welcoming as the Algiers location, just a little more dressed up to fit in with the Uptown neighborhood,” said Brennan. “It’s unique because we have a lot of outdoor seating under a large awning on a great corner uptown.”

With wholesale and retail partnerships ramping up, Congregation plans to open a third location in the French Quarter later this year.

Congregation Coffee Uptown is located at 900 Jefferson Avenue in New Orleans. 

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