Couple brings New Orleans king cakes to the MS Coast. Locals swarm inaugural pop-up

As the Mardi Gras season kicks off, so does king cake season.

The delectable cinnamon-roll-like cake can come in many varieties and can sometimes be a chore to obtain, especially for folks outside the New Orleans area.

One business is aiming to make it more convenient for shoppers and bakeries alike.

New Orleans based King Cake Drive-Thru is exactly what it sounds like, a drive-thru line to purchase a variety of king cakes from different businesses in one place.

The drive-thru is a mobile operation and on Wednesday it was set up outside of the Driftwood Motel in Bay St. Louis for its first ever stop in the Mississippi Coast city. The event was advertised to run from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. By noon, they were sold out.

“Clearly the Coast loves Mardi Gras and loves king cakes,” said owner Mike Graves.

Graves, who started the business in 2023 with his wife Tiffany Langlinais, said the business started with his wife’s love of Mardi Gras and king cake.

“We just wanted to make it really convenient for people,” said Graves. “They don’t have to get their kids out of the car to come get a cake.”

Graves, who is a Chicago native, says king cake is a new thing for him, but as the owner of a small New Orleans ice cream company himself, he loved the idea of showcasing small businesses and bringing their king cakes to new audiences.

Most of the king cakes the drive-thru carries are from bakeries in the Greater New Orleans area and south Louisiana including Antoine’s, Brennan’s, Bittersweet Confections, Caluda’s, Cannata’s, Hi-Do, Joe’s Cafe, and Sucré. On Wednesday, they also had cakes from Bay St. Louis’ own Beachside Bistro.

“Today we had everything from a cannoli King Cake, to a Nutella filled, as well as strawberry cream cheese and traditional,” said Graves. “We even had a Vietnamese iced coffee filled one and a Parisian style, which is like a big croissant style cake.”

Part of the goal of their business is getting more people to try Louisiana based bakeries. In 2023, their first year of operation, they brought the drive-thru pop up to Houston, Meridian and Biloxi. This year they plan to go to Meridian, Baton Rouge, Houston, Lafayette, and Atlanta.

Based on Wednesday’s success, Graves says they hope to have another pop-up at the Driftwood Motel in late February.

But if February is too long to wait, the New Orleans location of King Cake Drive-Thru operates throughout the Mardi Gras season from Friday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., or until sold out, at 1009 Metairie Road.

Hannah Ruhoff

Sun Herald