NEW ORLEANS — PJ's Coffee of New Orleans is celebrating its 30-year anniversary Sept. 3, 2008, with the giveaway of free iced coffee and hot drip coffee from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the original PJ's coffeehouse located at 7624 Maple St. in New Orleans.
The celebration will continue Sept. 4 at all participating PJ's locations, where customers will receive one free Anniversary Blend coffee.
Phyllis Jordan opened the first PJ's outlet on Maple Street, in the University area of New Orleans, in September 1978. In an attempt to enhance the coffee experience, Jordan purchased a private roasting facility in New Orleans in 1980.
In 2005, one third of PJ's Coffee stores in New Orleans were dramatically affected by Hurricane Katrina. Damage at the franchisees' locations ranged anywhere from several thousand dollars to in excess of $200,000.
Since then, the stores affected by Katrina have worked diligently to recover.
The Ballard family, longtime PJ's franchisees, purchased the PJ's Coffee of New Orleans franchise system and coffee roasting business this year. As the new franchisor, they are operating as New Orleans Roast and New Orleans Brew and plan to develop and manage additional stores throughout the Southeast.
