Cafe Du Monde's Japanese doppelganger

A Cafe Du Monde employ brings coffee and beignets to in the French Quarter on September 26, 2014. (Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune)

Cafe du Monde is buying Evan's Creole Candy Factory and plans to expand its French Market beignet operations into the candy shop's space on Decatur Street, the company said Wednesday (May 27).

The beignet company, established in 1862, will continue producing Evan's candies, carrying on the 115-year-old confections brand. Cafe du Monde will renovate Evan's shop at the French Market and possibly move its takeout beignet sales into the new kitchen, Cafe du Monde President Jay Roman said.

"It's a win for all parties involved," Roman said.

Roman said the transaction will be finished in a couple of weeks, and his company intends to keep the candy shop open during the renovation.

For Cafe du Monde, the move is a chance to respond to increased demand at its flagship location near Jackson Square, Roman said.

"We're kind of bursting at the seams at our end of the building," he said.

Roman said New Orleans is finally back 10 years after Hurricane Katrina, and the number of customers visiting the 24-hour cafe has increased sharply. During peak hours, customers form lines for tables inside the cafe and for orders at the to-go window.

"It would be nice to serve them quicker and more efficiently, so you don't have people waiting in line," Roman said.

Evan's is located downriver from Cafe du Monde in the same French Market building.

Jon Smith, executive director of the French Market Corp., said the corporation's board has approved turning the Evan's Creole Candy Factory's lease on its 2,000 square feet of space over to Cafe du Monde. The cafe operates in 5,700 square feet of space.

Roman declined to discuss financial details.

Smith said Evan's Creole Candy Factory has been important to the French Market for decades but has gone through tough times. He said it's good to see the business "be able to end on a high note."

Meanwhile, he said, the French Market Corp. --- which oversees a six-block area from the historic market at North Peters Street to the Upper Pontalba building at Jackson Square -- will get a financial boost.

Cafe du Monde pays rent of 7 percent of its sales, which surpass $10 million in a year, Smith said. The French Market Corp. returns a portions of its revenues each year to the city.

Stephen Wiles, an attorney representing Evan's, said the Cuccia family has owned Evan's since the 1960s and is a longstanding tenant at the French Market. As the company struggled in recent years, he said the family "wanted the ability to have a graceful exit," which the deal has allowed.

"The real upshot is everyone benefited from it," Wiles said.