PJ’s Coffee is formally assuming the brand, PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans. The New Orleans reference will begin to make its way in stores this fall starting with a new line of coffee packaging and coinciding with the 28-year anniversary of the concept. Look for four very distinct, very nostalgic coffee bags featuring images known around the world as classic New Orleans.

PJ’s distinguishes the packaging of the roasts with single colors from its logo (red, purple, and yellow-orange) and carefully selected images (Canal Street Trolley, Jackson Square Chapel, Bourbon Street Jazz Band, and a Garden District Antebellum Manor) all done in a sepia tone finish.

Coming up on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which had an impact on 30 percent of PJ’s Coffee shops, the brand’s spirit, its recovery, and its long-standing affair with its hometown of New Orleans remain full of pride and prominence. If anything, Hurricane Katrina has galvanized the 28-year-old coffee brand with New Orleans, home to its roasting facility that sits four feet above street level overlooking the Mississippi River.

“While the name change to PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans is subtle in print, it is significant in the minds of our constituents, especially our franchisees,” explains Chris Morocco, president, PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans. “It reflects our commitment to New Orleans in physical presence and in distinguishing our coffee from the rest of the United States where specialty coffee has become a very competitive and crowded marketplace. New Orleans represents one of the leading coffee ports in the world, and we feel a sense of ownership and responsibility to New Orleans.”

The new line of whole bean packaging, created by New Orleans-based Innovative Advertising, also represents PJ’s Coffee entry into 16-ounce whole bean packaging, something PJ’s customers have been requesting for years. In addition to packaging, customers can expect to see other elements of New Orleans inside the stores, including stories of PJ’s Coffee founder Phyllis Jordan, framed in antebellum-style windows repurposed from turn of the century New Orleans homes. The windows, in part, are being sourced from Jordan who has an initiative called Green Project that salvages remnants of historic homes to be re-used.