After five years of stop-and-start construction and permitting headaches, Lilly’s Café is finally on track to debut a second Magazine Street spot at 3329 Magazine Street in New Orleans. The long-awaited sequel promises more seating, broader hours and a menu that leans into creative Vietnamese street-food shareables. That bigger vision has not come easy, with repeated permit filings, a nearby building collapse and rising renovation costs all helping push the opening into 2026, as reported by NOLA.
Permit cleared after long wait
City officials signed off on key paperwork this month, clearing a major bureaucratic hurdle for the new restaurant, according to NOLA. The city's planning docket lists Zoning Docket 009/26 for 3329 Magazine Street, confirming a conditional-use request to permit a standard restaurant at the site, as shown in official city records.
Owner's timeline and earlier approvals
Trihn "Lilly" Vuong bought the shotgun house at the address in October 2020 and moved to convert it into a second café, New Orleans CityBusiness reported. The project cleared early planning reviews in 2021, and updated permit filings surfaced later as the team worked through design and construction issues, according to What Now New Orleans.
Collapse, costs and red tape
Progress was also knocked off course after a partial building collapse on Magazine Street in late 2024 that left the owner’s parked car crushed beneath falling debris, an incident that drew on-the-scene local coverage. Local TV reported on the collapse and cleanup efforts, which temporarily closed blocks around the site, according to WDSU. The build was further complicated by post-pandemic supply and labor pressures that have driven up renovation costs for small projects, a trend documented in Federal Reserve reports.
What to expect at the new Lilly's
Vuong has said the second Lilly’s will be "more fun" and lean into creative dishes and street-food snacks meant to showcase Vietnamese culture, comments captured in local reporting. NOLA also notes the owners intend to press ahead despite delays, and the second location should free up capacity at the original 1813 Magazine Street café while offering a slightly larger, walk-in friendly spot upriver.
