Le P'tit Plateau Seeks Buyer, Compensation From City After Catastrophic Flood

Le P'tit Plateau, a standout bring-your-own-wine restaurant, has been listed on Cragislist. The restaurant from Geneviève Desnoyers and chef Alain Loivel, open for close to two decades, took a longer than usual summer hiatus because of a catastrophic water main accident. The restaurant, now back up to snuff, will stay open, and Desnoyers reported today that business is very good. The couple, however, wishes to move on, and have listed the restaurant at what Desnoyers termed a "fair and negotiable price."

"We want to take retirement and have some other projects in mind. My husband started cooking in France when he was thirteen. Enough is enough. We're tired. We love the restaurant, we love our customers, but it's very hard, this business," a sanguine, despite her recent trials, Desnoyers told Eater over the phone. Even harder when a burst pipe makes your restaurant look "like Niagara Falls" and the city reacts slowly to stem the damage, as was the case this past August as Desnoyers and Loivel prepared to reopen Le P'tit Plateau after a month's holiday.

"Water gushed for 18 hours straight. It was a Sunday and the city refused to act. We had to wait until the Monday. We didn't know whether to cry, or laugh." The couple, who own the triplex that houses Le P'tit Plateau, fixed the damages and have filed a claim with their insurance to collect compensation from the city.

Le P'tit Plateau has done well with Montreal's critics, overall, and is largely regarded as a Plateau fixture, and favourite. Lesley Chesterman's third review of the restaurant for the Gazette in 2011, a three-star rave, included this passage: "After lingering at the table for a good hour after the dessert plates were cleared, I walked out Le P’tit Plateau’s door fully satiated and beaming. Indeed this was a night to remember." Le P'tit Plateau, of course, is not the only Montreal restaurant to have been victimized by alleged city negligence of late.

h/t Chowhound.