NEW ORLEANS — In yesterday's predawn, a glow from one cafe shone blocks away, a beacon of normalcy in a city whose life is anything but.

"The Beignets Are Back!" proclaimed a sign tied to an iron fence. The aromas of coffee and pastries wafted through cobblestone streets as TV crews and about 200 customers waited for the world-famous Cafe Du Monde to take orders.

"After Mardi Gras, this is the biggest thing in New Orleans," said Dawit Mehari, 29, of New Orleans.

A beignet is a piece of New Orleans. And like a long-lost friend seen once more, a comforting familiarity is back.

Since 1862, Cafe Du Monde has been a 24-hour restaurant where many began their days or ended them after nights of carousing on Bourbon Street. Serving only coffee and beignets, the restaurant catered to the public year-round, except for Christmas, until Hurricane Katrina.

Yesterday, after six weeks of repairs, finding employees and fixing the plumbing, the cafe opened after its longest closure in 143 years.

Hundreds of tiny pillow-puffs of fried dough simmering in their Jacuzzi of oil floated to the top, ready for a sprinkle of sugar. Chicory-laced coffee brewed in industrial coffee urns. About 6 a.m., bassist Joe Simon, 71, gave his jazz trio a nod.

"When you're smilin'," he sang, playing a walking bass line on the Louis Armstrong classic.

By now, the real drama was unfolding. Swooping in with tray after tray, waitresses appeared wearing paper soda-jerk hats, white blouses and tiny black bowties. Camera spotlights focused close on their wares: mounds of snowy-sugared squares, cups brimming with cafe au lait.

Clutching a worn book of crossword puzzles, Sidney Arroyo, 52, said he cherished the return of his morning ritual.

"This is a big deal," he said. "This is the biggest crowd convened for anything since the city reopened. ... I wouldn't have missed this for the world."