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The concept, led by a dynamic frontman, was outside of the box, with all the ingredients ostensibly in place. Montreal's food critics wrote awesome things like "[o]n est ailleurs, dans un univers qui puise ses textures et ses couleurs dans les origines asiatiques des propriétaires, mais conjugue ces influences de façon résolument actuelle, qui les célèbre." So why has Maison June Rose, the cocktail-driven, new wave Chinese buffet restaurant from André Nguyen, been closed since late July? "We are on vacation. We will see you soon," the restaurant wrote on July 28.
A staff member at Big in Japan, Nguyen's popular pub around the corner, brushed aside concerns about Maison June Rose today and divulged that the purpose of the hiatus to retool. Nguyen, for his part, has not returned calls to discuss the status of his restaurant. A tipster recently disclosed that Maison June Rose underwent some major personnel shuffles in the kitchen not too long ago. Stay tuned for more news on the 2014 Eater Awards nominee.
Update, Friday, August 21, 2015: A tipster writes in today to say that Nguyen "said it's gonna close."
Update, Wednesday, May 25, 2016: It looks like Maison June Rose's extended, close to year-long hiatus has come to an end. The restaurant announced in late April on Facebook that it was "Reopening soon!" Yesterday, none other than musician Kid Koala confirmed that Maison June Rose would relaunch this Friday. The buffet format has been set aside; the new menu seems to heavily concentrated on dumplings.