After closing its flagship location on Maple Street in January 2025, PJ’s Coffee could still maintain its streak of consecutive years on the street with a new location set to open in the fall of 2026. A former Starbucks location at 7700 Maple St. is undergoing significant interior and exterior renovations to convert it into a new PJ’s location.
Scott Ballard, founder and CEO of Ballard Brands, which owns PJ’s, recently told What Now New Orleans that he and his partners have a deep connection to PJ’s being on Maple Street, as Tulane University graduates.
“We knew we wanted to be back on Maple because that’s our original, right?” he said. “The first PJ’s that I went to was on Maple Street. It’s where I went with my wife when we were in college at Tulane. We grew up on PJ’s, and we’re honored to bring it back into the neighborhood.”
Founded by Phyllis Jordan on Maple Street in 1978, PJ’s Coffee has stood out from other coffee chains by maintaining a distinct New Orleans identity. Jordan began franchising the concept in the 80s, and in 2008, it was acquired by Covington-based Ballard Brands. It currently has more than 200 locations.
Ballard said the upcoming Maple Street store — featuring a corner location, patio, and off-street parking — will have a vibe that is unmistakably PJ’s. It will also reflect the future direction of the brand as it continues to grow. In addition to selling classic coffee and tea drinks, PJ’s has been expanding into offering refreshers, energy drinks, and even mushroom-infused coffees. Ballad said the food will also continue to evolve, but remain rooted in the chef-centric culinary roots of New Orleans.
“We’ll continue to innovate,” Ballard said, “but we’ll always, always be the small batch roaster based out of the Marigny. We’ll continue to use the top 1 percent of beans from 18 different origins, like how Phyllis started it. We will continue to be the coffee and tea (purists) that we started as.”
