Reverie Brings Trinidadian Doubles and Dinner By Reservation to Historic Maple Street Cottage

A new all-day café and dinner spot called Reverie New Orleans is set to open this fall inside a century-old cottage on Maple Street, transforming a building once famous as the longtime home of an Uptown bookstore into a globally-influenced eatery serving everything from Kenyan teas to Trinidadian street food. Co-owner Sarah Razack describes the family-run venture as a place designed to feel less like a transaction and more like an invitation into someone's home.

According to WhatNow New Orleans, Razack previously worked in film production before moving to New Orleans, and she plans to draw on that background to shape the social atmosphere inside the Uptown cottage. Reverie will occupy 7523 Maple St., a 1,013-square-foot commercial building that spent 53 years as the home of the beloved Maple Street Book Shop before it closed in 2017, according to New Orleans Historical. Founded in 1964 by sisters Rhoda Norman and Mary Kellogg, the shop became a neighborhood institution known for hosting author Walker Percy and for its widely recognized bumper sticker slogan, “Fight the Stupids.”

From Bookshop to Breakfast Counter

The shotgun-style cottage, built in 1900, was renovated into commercial space in 2015 and listed for lease in January 2026 at $1,800 per month, with off-street parking for two or more cars and a large backyard, per a listing from TAG Realty. That outdoor space could offer room for customer seating as Reverie settles in. The property falls under HU-B1 zoning, a Historic Urban Neighborhood Business District classification meant to allow low-intensity retail and small restaurants like coffee shops while preserving the historic character of residential blocks, according to the City of New Orleans Master Plan.

Reverie will serve café fare during the mornings, offering coffee, tea, and grab-and-go food before closing between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and reopening for dinner service at night, per the same WhatNow account. The evening program will initially operate by reservation only, and unlike a high-turnover café, Razack has said the goal is to prioritize lingering and socialization over quick table turns. “I want people to feel like they're coming over to someone's house for dinner,” Razack said, per WhatNow's reporting.

A Menu Built From Four Continents

The menu reflects Razack's Trinidadian, Middle Eastern, Indian, Spanish, and West African heritage, according to the article. Among the standout dishes are Trinidadian doubles with curry chickpeas and homemade mango chutney, alongside a pimento cheese and guava sandwich. Doubles are a traditional Trinidadian street food made of two pieces of fried turmeric flatbread filled with curried chickpeas and topped with chutney, a dish rooted in the East Indian cultural influences that shaped Trinidad and Tobago's food traditions, as explained by Atlas Obscura.

The beverage program will lean into that same global mix, featuring premium matcha, Kenyan teas, and specialty cocktails made with Trinidadian rums, the article notes. Reverie's arrival adds to a broader wave of Caribbean flavors showing up across New Orleans kitchens, a trend also reflected at Mid-City's Queen Trini Lisa, which highlights Trinbagonian island soul food, according to Very Local.

Betting on Student Foot Traffic

Reverie sits about four blocks from Tulane University, which enrolled 13,310 students in the 2024–2025 academic year, and Loyola University New Orleans, which enrolled 4,250 students, putting the café within easy reach of well over 17,000 potential customers, per enrollment figures from both universities. The café plans to cater specifically to students and locals in that stretch of Uptown, the article states.

That student density arrives as the Maple Street corridor keeps shifting. Just down the block, the building housing campus fixture Bruno's Tavern went up for sale at $2.4 million in March, and in April, Origami Sushi relocated to Maple Street from Freret Street, part of an ongoing pattern of restaurant turnover near the two campuses. Maple Street has long competed for foot traffic with nearby corridors like Oak, Freret, and Magazine Streets, according to New Orleans Magazine, making Reverie's entry into a historically resonant address one more chapter in the strip's evolving dining scene.