Our Story

A breakfast and brunch destination, born on Magazine Street.

a woman standing behind a counter in a bakery

a group of people preparing food in a kitchen

a group of people sitting at a table in a restaurant

A New Orleans breakfast brand that started with a donut

District opened on Magazine Street in 2013, founded by Chris Audler, Aaron Vogel and Stephen Cali. The original idea was simple: serve New Orleans the kind of breakfast it actually wants — handmade, neighborhood-scaled, and built around the foods people already loved. Donuts and sliders were the hook. Breakfast sandwiches, biscuits, eggs, and coffee were the meal. That combination of a playful menu and serious mornings is what made District a breakfast, brunch and lunch destination instead of just a donut shop.

Why donuts, burgers, and breakfast all live on the same menu

In most cities, "donut shop" means a counter and a cup of drip. In New Orleans, we wanted something bigger. So we built a breakfast and lunch kitchen around the donut. The sliders started as a way to make our morning food shareable — small enough to mix-and-match, big enough to make a real meal. The biscuits and breakfast sandwiches came from the same instinct: build everything by hand, from scratch, every morning. The donuts get the headlines. The breakfast keeps people coming back.

The coffee program

We built District's coffee program to stand on its own and not to lean on the food. Every location pulls espresso, brews drip, and steeps cold brew daily. We roast our own coffee through CoolKids Coffee Roasters and train our baristas in-house.

Five neighborhoods and counting

What started on Magazine Street is now five New Orleans neighborhoods — Magazine Street, Lakeview on Harrison Ave, Elmwood, Uptown at Arabella, and Downtown — plus a Las Vegas location inside The Cosmopolitan. Each one is built for the neighborhood it sits in: stroller-friendly in Lakeview, commuter-fast Downtown, leisurely-brunch on Magazine. Same delicious. Same hospitality. Different rhythms.

FAQ — Story page

FAQ 1 Q: When was District Donuts founded? A: District opened on Magazine Street in 2013.

FAQ 2 Q: Is District Donuts a local New Orleans business? A: Yes. District was founded in New Orleans and is locally owned and operated. We now have five New Orleans neighborhood locations plus a Las Vegas location at The Cosmopolitan.

FAQ 3 Q: What is District Donuts known for? A: District is known as a New Orleans breakfast and lunch destination. Signature items include breakfast sandwiches, sliders, biscuits, cheeseburgers, espresso, and our original handmade donuts.

FAQ 4 Q: How many District Donuts locations are there? A: Six total — five in New Orleans (Magazine Street, Lakeview on Harrison Ave, Elmwood, Uptown at Arabella Station, and Downtown) plus Las Vegas inside The Cosmopolitan.