Mercedes Gibson’s arrival in New Orleans in 1969 was the start of a legacy, built on grit and family. As she recalls, “ten dollars, ten children and a tank of gas” were all she had when she first came to the city. Today, sitting in Mercedes Place, the bar she has lovingly run for thirty-two years in the Lower 9th Ward’s Holy Cross neighborhood, her eyes sparkle with the memories. This corner of New Orleans, still showing the scars of Hurricane Katrina, is seeing new life emerge. A flower shop down the street is a bright spot, a symbol of resurgence in an area often overlooked. While not every attempt at revitalization has succeeded – the nearby Brad Pitt-funded Make it Right Houses serve as a cautionary tale – Mercedes Place has remained a constant, a beloved fixture in the community. For decades, it’s been a haven for locals and visitors alike, a place to connect with friends, old and new, to step in for a refreshing beer when a second line parade passes by, and to enjoy comforting red beans and rice on a Monday. Mercedes Gibson has poured drinks and served her community here for over thirty years. Now, before the bar’s midday opening, her granddaughter, Lichelle Gibson, is brewing something different: coffee, adding a fresh chapter to the story of Mercedes Place.
Lichelle Gibson recognized the power of coffee early on. “I realized from the beginning that coffee was such an intricate beverage,” she explains. “And it brought so many people together – people love this drink.” The idea sparked during the early days of the 2020 pandemic. “When everything started to happen, that’s when it clicked and I said, ‘Oh, you know what, I think I can do this. My grandmother owns a barroom down in the Lower Ninth Ward.’”
From Thursday to Saturday, before Mercedes Place opens as a bar, Lichelle runs 2NP, a café serving coffee, tea, fresh juices, fruit bowls, breakfast tacos, and daily specials like shrimp and grits. The name 2NP, “To Invest Purpose,” is deeply personal for Gibson. It reflects her experience of being trapped on her rooftop for three days after Hurricane Katrina, witnessing the devastation of her lifelong neighborhood.
“The reason I chose that name is because this is home for me,” Gibson states. “I was born and raised in the Ninth Ward. I’ve been here 38 years. I learned everything right here in this bar from watching my grandma. And I felt that, after Katrina, that this was the forgotten-about neighborhood of the Ninth Ward.” Her venture is not just a business; it’s a reinvestment in her community, building on the foundation laid by her grandmother, Mercedes, and Mercedes Place.
New Orleans has a rich coffee heritage, something Lichelle Gibson is keenly aware of and banking on. The scent of freshly roasted coffee often drifts across the city, especially in the mornings, carried from the roasting plants near the Industrial Canal and the Mississippi River. The Port of New Orleans is a major entry point for green coffee beans, more than any other port in the United States, destined for roasters nationwide. Chicory coffee, a strong and distinctively bitter brew, is deeply ingrained in New Orleans culture, born from necessity during the Civil War blockades when chicory was used to extend scarce coffee supplies. While cocktails might be the city’s most famous drinks, coffee arguably holds equal claim as a signature beverage. As New Orleans evolves, embracing new demographics and tastes, coffee remains a common ground, a drink that unites.
Coffee has deep roots in New Orleans; Lichelle Gisbon is counting on that.
Brandi Charlot, owner of the nearby flower shop and another Lower 9th Ward native reinvesting in her neighborhood, enthusiastically recommended 2NP. Her urgent call insisted we visit Lichelle Gibson “right now.” And so, we did, drawn by the promise of community and good coffee in this historic New Orleans locale.
From the outside, the corner bar exudes a Caribbean vibe with its white stucco walls and green trim. Small sandwich boards, crafted from reclaimed glass windows, announce 2NP. Yet, the weathered sign above still proclaims “Mercedes Place,” a testament to its enduring identity. On the Lizardi Street side, a woman enjoys the unusually cool New Orleans summer day at a sidewalk table.
Stepping inside, the bar-turned-coffee shop is dimly lit, a cozy mix of natural light and string lights. This creates an informal, almost improvised atmosphere that perfectly suits the diverse clientele – a blend of long-time neighborhood residents and newer faces. Behind the bar, Lichelle Gibson and her partner, Chad, are busy crafting drinks and engaging in conversation with everyone who enters. It feels less like a typical coffee shop and more like a vital community hub, much like Mercedes Place has always been. Ms. Mary, a neighborhood resident and regular customer, is enjoying a quiet moment when Gibson warmly interjects, “I do a fresh fruit oatmeal bowl that Ms. Mary – also a pillar of the community – really loves.”
This invitation to conversation is readily accepted. Ms. Mary White smiles warmly. Like Ms. Mercedes, she too is a transplant to New Orleans, though from nearby New Iberia, Louisiana, not Franklin. She spent most of her life uptown before fate brought her to the Ninth Ward.
“I moved into the neighborhood three years ago and I didn’t know anything about the Ninth Ward,” White shares over her fruit bowl. “I grew up uptown New Orleans. So coming to the Ninth Ward was like coming to Florida. Little did I know, Miss Mercedes came from Franklin, where I came from New Iberia, which is 30 miles away. 20. So [just] miles away. I knew her family. She knew my family. And we’ve just become a family. And you can’t find that anywhere anymore.”
Chad Whitman, Lichelle Gibson’s business partner, echoes this sentiment of instant belonging.
“Ms. Mercedes accepted me immediately,” Whitman says. “In a way that even some of my own family hasn’t.”
Gibson and Whitman’s partnership began at Hey Café on the Lafitte Greenway, where Gibson still works part-time, refining her coffee skills.
“Me and my partner here Chad, man, Chad,” Gibson gushes, “Well, what can I say about you? Oh, my goodness. Such a good friend. Such a good friend.”
Friendship is indeed a defining characteristic of both 2NP and Mercedes Place. A small sign above the bar reads “Enter as strangers, leave as friends.” It could just as easily say, “Enter as friends, leave as family.”
As we sit at the bar, Gibson greets a man at the door with a bowl of freshly prepared shrimp and grits and a water. No money is exchanged, only goodwill. Hospitality is clearly a family trait, passed down through generations like a classic car, enduring and always reliable – much like a New Orleans Mercedes, though in this case, the Mercedes is a person, not a vehicle, but equally as iconic in her community.
“Everyone within the Ninth Ward community knows about my grandmother,” Gibson explains. “My grandmother has taken in strangers that have lived in her home with her, people come from all over to come see to come sit to come talk to my grandmother.”
And they also come for her red beans and rice, a dish Gibson says Mercedes has been serving “as long as I can remember.” When asked about the recipe, Gibson playfully declines to share.
“Oh see that’s a family secret, red beans,” Gibson says, “But I can guarantee you this: every family member – every grandchild of Mercedes – knows how to make those red beans. Guarantee. Guarantee. Guarantee.”
With the red beans remaining a mystery, our attention turns to the shrimp and grits. The aroma is captivating, a blend of buttery grits and rich brown sauce mingling with the scent of coffee. Gibson places a generous bowl in front of us, eager for us to try it, while sharing her cooking philosophy.
“I believe if you’re gonna cook, you shouldn’t play with food,” Gibson asserts. “If you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t play.”
One taste confirms Gibson’s seriousness about cooking. The rich, yet delicate shellfish stock infuses the silky grits and tender shrimp – a dish that evokes the comfort and satisfaction of a meal at grandmother’s house. It pairs perfectly with Gibson’s “Powerhouse Tea,” a concoction she developed during the pandemic to boost immunity, featuring ginger, honey, raw sugar, vanilla, and orange juice as prominent flavors.
Ms. Mercedes enters the barroom just before noon, returning with supplies from the store. A doorway connects her house directly to the bar, a common arrangement for long-time proprietors; Mercedes Place is not just her business, it’s her life. And within this life’s work, she welcomes her granddaughter’s new venture, something both fresh and familiar.
“That’s what I told Chad from the beginning; I want to serve this community,” Gibson emphasizes. “I want to know who they are. I want to go old school and pass out flyers. Let’s walk around. Let’s go meet these people. We doing it one cup at a time. And it’s gonna take us some time. But we here for the long haul. Mercedes is still standing and she’s still here.” In the heart of New Orleans, Mercedes Place and 2NP stand as testaments to community, resilience, and the enduring power of family legacy, a true New Orleans Mercedes in spirit and name.
By James Cullen, photos by James Cullen
Published on August 18, 2022
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