The Grocery Store That Cooks
Most grocery stores sell ingredients. Dorignac's Food Center sells dinner. Since 1947, this family-owned grocery on Veterans Memorial Boulevard near the Orleans Parish line has been one of the few stores in the New Orleans area where you can walk in for a quart of milk and walk out with crawfish pie, stuffed artichokes, gumbo, frog legs, Creole cream cheese, and a sack of olive salad for muffulettas. It's not just a grocery store — it's a Creole and Cajun food emporium disguised as a neighborhood market.
Joseph Dorignac Jr. opened the original store in the Lower Garden District in 1947, serving a post-war New Orleans that was hungry, growing, and in no mood to compromise on the quality of its groceries. In 1963, the store relocated to its current home on Veterans Highway and Focis Street, following the suburban migration that was reshaping the metro area. Joseph Dorignac III took over after his father passed away, continuing the family tradition of treating grocery shopping as a culinary experience.
The Prepared Foods Are the Point
What sets Dorignac's apart is the prepared foods section, which operates more like a restaurant kitchen than a grocery department. The display cases are filled with dishes that represent the full range of New Orleans home cooking — red beans and rice, crawfish etouffee, shrimp Creole, stuffed bell peppers, and dozens of other dishes made fresh daily. During crawfish season, the store becomes a pilgrimage site for crawfish pies and boiled crawfish. During the holidays, the turducken orders stack up like cordwood.
Dorignac's also specializes in hard-to-find Creole and Cajun ingredients that chain grocery stores don't bother to stock. If your recipe calls for file powder, tasso, andouille from a specific producer, or Creole cream cheese, Dorignac's has it. The store serves as a culinary supply depot for serious home cooks who refuse to compromise.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dorignac's Food Center
Where is Dorignac's?
Dorignac's Food Center is located on Veterans Memorial Boulevard at Focis Street in Metairie, near the Orleans Parish line.
When was Dorignac's founded?
Dorignac's was founded in 1947 in the Lower Garden District. It relocated to its current Metairie location in 1963.
What is Dorignac's known for?
Dorignac's is famous for its prepared Creole and Cajun foods — crawfish pie, gumbo, stuffed artichokes, frog legs, and dozens of other dishes made fresh daily. It also stocks specialty ingredients that chain stores don't carry.
Is Dorignac's still family-owned?
Yes. The store has been family-owned since 1947, now operated by the third generation of the Dorignac family.
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