NEW ORLEANS — After 12 years of serving its coffee-loving customers from its Mid-City location on Canal Street, beloved coffee house Church Alley Cafe & Grocery has closed its doors.
The cafe first announced its closure on social media in mid-October, stating that it would shut down operations at the end of November.
That end came on Sunday at 2 p.m.
According to a Facebook post last month, Church Alley's lease is set to expire on Dec. 1, and the cafe has struggled to remain open for the past two years.
I want to thank you for being part of our little cafe for 12 years," said owner Reneé Blanchard in the heartfelt post. "It has been one of the most joyful, difficult, and meaningful experiences of my life!"
Blanchard further said the decision to close did not come easy.
"I decided to close the shop after a lot of thinking, prayer, and speaking with so many of the people I admire most around town," she posted. "It was not an easy decision. It is the right one."
The Nicholls State graduate, who says she will continue her graduate studies in Nutrition and Dietetics at Tulane next year, says despite the physical closure, she's still hopeful of a future for the Church Alley brand.
"Church Alley isn’t gone, but it will look very different than it has over the past 12 years," the New Iberia native said. "Times change and so do we! This is not bittersweet. It’s just time to move forward in a new way.
"I’m incredibly grateful for every single day we had as a brick and mortar," Blanchard continued. "And I’m really looking forward to this next chapter."
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