NEW ORLEANS — Kirby Jones was very excited to finally open her creole coffee shop, La Vie En Rose Cafe, in November of 2019, but we all know what happened in the following months.
The pandemic disrupted lives and businesses all over the world.
"I remember being so scared because we just opened. I worked really really hard to get there. I've been doing La Vie En Rose for about five years with pop-ups across the city, and to have that happen five months after finally opening my first brick and mortar location was really just mind-blowing and just very scary," explained Jones.
In March of 2020, Covid forced Jones to close the shop.
She spent a year trying out other locations, and finally, this February, Jones found a new spot.
It's now at the bottom of the Saulet Apartments (1420 Annunciation Street) you'll find La Vie En Rose Cafe.
"We are a creole coffee shop. My family has been here in New Orleans for over 300 years. I've loved coffee since a little girl," said Jones.
La Vie En Rose is just a comfortable and fun space to celebrate Jones' love of coffee. And the Creole dishes that she grew up with.
"We have crawfish bread. We have crab beignets. We have a lot of different things to offer that I think give people that true authentic New Orleans experience," says Jones.
There are bits and pieces of old-school New Orleans everywhere.
"Even my little couch that I have over here, 'Everybody is like OMG, my grandmother had a couch like that,' and that's the vibe I want for here. I want that experience here of authentic New Orleans still with a splash of like new things and just fun," says Jones.
The shop's name is a nod to Louis Armstrong's rendition of the song "La Vie En Rose," which means to see life through rose-colored glasses.
"It's just the essence of how I want to live my life, how I want you to feel when you walk into the coffee shop. I wish I could have it playing the entire day, but I think it would drive people crazy," Jones said.
Those rose-colored glasses helped Jones see through some difficult times to bring her rose-colored vision to life.
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