Controversies

Montreal Bakery and Café Owner Pens Sarcastic Takedown of City

After three consecutive summers of roadwork, Les Co'pains d'Abord has had enough.

by Ian Harrison Sep 14, 2015, 5:26pm EDT

Via Les Co'pains d'Abord [Official Site] and Thai Grill Forced to Close for Good, Owners Sue City [EMTL]

You can't see the roadwork, but it's there

The owner of a Montreal bakery, pastry shop, and café has expressed the exasperations felt by many fellow merchants in the Plateau in a sarcastic takedown of the city. The pun-tastic Les Co'pains d'Abord took to Facebook today to announce that, after three consecutive summers, it was finally free of orange construction cones, and was 'thankful' to the City of Montreal for the diligent care it took of the business's sidewalk on Rachel, corner Saint-Denis. Here's the bakery's full statement, translated:

This morning, big news upon arrival at the bakery: it's THE END of the orange cones outside our door.
After three years of intensive work, every summer (there was even, momentarily, a ravine, a marathon of holes, to enter the shop), Les Co'pains d'Abord would like to thank the City of Montreal for taking such good care of our sidewalk.
We're already sad and look forward to next summer, to find out if we will be lucky again to be surrounded by orange cones for many weeks ... The suspense is unbearable.

This inspiring orange colour has rocked your croissant bites; the pleasing symphonic sound of heavy machinery has accompanied your sips of coffee.

And to soothe your nascent nostalgia, we suggest a carrot muffin or house végé-pâté sandwich, two Co'pains essentials ... both slightly orange. [wink emoticon] (In the meantime, waiting for pumpkins!)

The Montreal Gazette reported this past April that the city had plans to "spend $523 million repairing roads, overpasses and the water and sewer network this summer, an increase of more than 40 per cent over the $370 million spent in 2014." Plateau merchants have been particularly vocal about the toll long construction projects have taken on their businesses and the apparent lack of consultation from city officials. Les Co'pains d'Abord runs two other shops in the city, on Mont-Royal Est, also in the Plateau, and on Masson in Rosemont.