A new coffee shop is bringing Dallas-Fort Worth an authentic NOLA-style experience: The shop is called Cafe La Faye, and it's summoning that Big Easy spirit with the classic combination of coffee and beignets, the pillowy fried pastry that's a signature of New Orleans.

The family-owned spot just opened in McKinney at 407 E. Louisiana St., in the historic McKinney Flour Mill building, with a stated goal to deliver a New Orleans experience that immerses you in Southern and French Quarter culture.

The cafe is from Ben Tapper, a native of Baton Rouge who left his job at Boeing to fulfill his passion for hospitality. He started out doing Cafe La Faye as a mobile concept in 2025, and was pleasantly surprised to discover there was a big demand.

"My whole family grown up in the South — my aunt lives on Magazine Street in New Orleans," Tapper says.

He started out roasting coffee, and it grew from there. They roast all their own coffee beans in-house — sourced from suppliers such as Coffee Bean Corral and Rancher Wholesale — which their use for beverages and also sell the beans retail.

"We started with drip coffee, paired with New Orleans-style beignets," he says.

You can order the beignets with powdered sugar or with Nutella or strawberry preserves on the side, three to an order for $6. They prepare them to order, to deliver a crisp golden outside and soft, airy inside.

In addition to beignets, they offer pastries from indies such as Baked By Bekah, a cottage baker in Melissa. There are also espresso drinks, cold brew, and ice cream from Henry's Ice Cream in Plano, as well as a big selection of gluten-free goods — made by Tapper's mother.

"My mom is Faye — she's the inspiration," Tapper says. "She started a cottage bakery business back in Baton Rouge, doing gluten-free cookies and cakes, so we offer her goods like gluten-free brownies, lemon loaf, and blueberry muffins."

The piece de resistance is the beignet cinnamon roll, made from their beignet dough, with brown sugar and cinnamon, and topped with Mama Faye's secret buttercream frosting.

Hanging out is encouraged, and there's a separate area for kids.

"There's a lot of transplants from Louisiana who live here, and we found there was a strong desire for that kind of Southern hospitality — for a beignet and coffee shop that makes people feel like they're sitting in Cafe du Monde, fulfilling that French quarter vibe they miss," Tapper says. "That's why we do it — it brings joy to people."