Cops Slap Hot New Montreal Restaurant Le Mousso With $1,875 Ticket

The chef-owner of hot new Montreal restaurant Le Mousso is livid after being issued a $1,875 ticket by police for excessive noise. "We were hosting a private event on Sunday, and the music was loud," admits Antonin Mousseau-Rivard. "But it was three o'clock in the afternoon. I just spent a ridiculous amount of money to open a restaurant, and now this happens. They could have at least given us a warning first."

The police allegedly told Mousseau-Rivard that because Le Mousso is in a more residential neighbourhood, and not, for example, on boulevard Saint-Laurent, his establishment is more prone to incur such fines. The restaurateur says that he's had run-ins with the whistleblower, an upstairs neighbour, in the past. "He was upset by the construction noise when we were building the place. We doubled up on the insulation, changed the A/C system to make it quieter, and have tried to operate in good faith." Le Mousso's $1,875 ticket is a sobering reminder of what can befall bars and restaurants that are permitted to operate in areas like Centre-Sud Montreal. Arcade Fire's Agrikol, set to open soon not far from Le Mousso, was warned by the Ville-Marie borough that it will have to respect certain decibel level restrictions. That did not allay concerns for some residents at a public hearing in September, however. Mousseau-Rivard plans to contest the fine, but isn't holding his breath for clemency.

Un gros merci à la police de Montréal qui encourage les jeunes entrepreneurs d'un quartier qui a besoin d'être ravivé à coups d'amende de 1875$ (sans même un avertissement), y'a des putes partout autour et des piqueries mais c'est nous qui écopons.... #FTP #freemousso #muglife / A huge thanks to the Montreal police who has nothing better to do than to give a1875$ sound fine (at 4pm...)to a business that tries to enhance a neighborhood...thanks guys

A photo posted by @lemousso on Nov 9, 2015 at 10:18am PST