Brigade Pizza Prepares to Open Downtown

A new pizza upstart wants to revive the Downtown scene with a concept it calls "authentic" and "a first" - not just for Montreal but for Canada. Big talk indeed. And from the founders of Yeh! Yogurt no less.

For more, have a look at the official press release sent to Eater Montreal today:

Brigade Pizzeria Napolitaine is a fast-casual Neapolitan pizzeria concept, the first of its kind to open in Québec. This concept is a "built-to-order" pizzeria, where the customers line up and choose what toppings to put on their pizza as it goes down an assembly line, then the pizza is cooked in front of the customer in minutes. Brigade Pizzeria Napolitaine will be the first of its kind in Canada.

Brigade Pizzeria serves personal 12" pizzas "built-to-order" by the customer and baked in wood burning ovens right before their eyes. Customers will line up along our counter as "brigadiers" hand stretch dough, then choose from over 36 toppings for their pizza and watch pizzaiolos cook their pizza in front of them in only 60-90 seconds. Toppings include grass-fed meatballs, wood-oven roasted meats, oven-roasted and marinated vegetables, and aged cheeses imported from Italy.

The new concept is scheduled to open its first location July 2014, in downtown Montreal at 1428 rue Stanley (close to Ste-Catherine across from Métro Peel). The Stanley location will feature a 30 foot marble counter where customers customize their order, two 3000 lb custom-built wood burning Marra Forni ovens imported from Italy, and 90 seats in the 2,500 square feet space. The design is urban and industrial.

"We have worked on the concept for 18 months to get to this point. We're excited to open the first one in Montreal and plan to open more restaurants in the next few years across Quebec," says President and CEO Jean-Daniel Nadeau.

Brigade pizzas are made following the art of true Neapolitan pizza-making from Naples, Italy. Brigade sources local fresh ingredients and quality imports from Italy, Caputo "00" flour, San Marzano tomatoes, Reggiano Parmigiano. Brigade believes in serving food responsibly, using local grass-fed and antibiotic-free beef and pork.

In addition to custom pizzas, guests can create their own salads and sandwiches too, or if they prefer, just choose a signature item from the menu. Brigade will be serving beer and wine from tap.

The founders of Brigade Pizzeria Napolitaine are the husband and wife team, Grace Yeh and Jean-Daniel Nadeau, who also created Montreal based frozen yogurt chain Yeh! Yogourt Glace et Café in 2008.

Grace Yeh and Jean-Daniel Nadeau followed their passion of Neapolitan pizza-making, and are trained certified pizzaiolos by VPN, the Associazone Verace Pizza Napoletana, the official association that regulates and sets guidelines for authentic Neapolitan pizza-making.

And there you have it. Brace yourself Downtown Montreal.

For the record, Nadeau and Yeh sold Yeh! Yogurt in 2012 to Jon and Marvin Gurman (see here), who have no involvement in Brigade Pizza whatsoever.

· Brigade Pizza [Official Site]
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