NEW ORLEANS — Patrick Brennan, who acquired New Orleans coffee company Congregation Coffee Roasters last month, has announced that Congregation’s Algiers Point café (240 Pelican Avenue) is now open for business with starting hours of operation 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Monday. The café will serve staple blends and seasonal single origin coffees and bagged coffees for home along with breakfast pastries from the Ralph Brennan Bakery and Congregation Coffee merchandise.
“I’m excited to reopen Congregation’s café to bring back quality coffee and recreate a space that brings the vibrant community members of Algiers Point together,” Said Brennan in a press release. “This is just the start of great things to come for this brand, and I’m thankful to be a part of it.”
Eliot Guthrie launched Congregation, named after the collective noun for a group of alligators, in 2015 out of the back of his shotgun house. The company ceased operations five months ago amid a search for new ownership. Brennan, a scion of one New Orleans’ most prominent restaurant families, became the buyer.
“Having the opportunity to revive a brand like Congregation, one that was loved and respected by so many people, is an honor that I’m excited to take on,” said Brennan in an October press release. “This venture will allow me to continue my personal growth as a business owner while sticking to my roots. There’s a reason we chose to serve Congregation Coffee at Brennan’s for the past seven years. They’re the best roasters in the city.”
“I’m excited to see the brand do something it was always supposed to do,” said Guthrie at the time. He remains involved in the business. “From our initial conversations, I knew Patrick had the potential to take Congregation to new heights while honoring the ethos and mission we worked to maintain over the years. I’m looking forward to what’s next.”
A fourth generation member of the Brennan family of restaurateurs (and son of Ralph Brennan), Brennan said he began his restaurant career at nine years old in the kitchen of Red Fish Grill. He has since worked in many different roles at many different RBRG restaurants. He initially worked with Guthrie to develop Brennan’s coffee program.
In 2018, Food & Wine named Congregation the best coffee roaster in Louisiana.
Congregation has also announced its retail coffee is now available to purchase online at www.congregationcoffee.com with weekly, bi-weekly or monthly home delivery options. Congregation’s gifted monthly coffee subscription (three, six or 12 month gifting options) is now live.