Holiday Season Molotov Cocktails Break Two Restaurants’ Windows, Hearts

Fire bombings aren’t terribly uncommon in Montreal, but two in one night is a little bothersome.

The Ahuntsic location of Dominic Bujold’s critically-approved Pizzeria No 900 (see also: Old Montreal’s LOV) had what CBC Montreal called an “incendiary device” tossed through its window early on Boxing Day, causing a small fire. Police were able to get the fire out but there was minor damage.

The Fleury Street location of 900 noted on social media that they would be closed for Monday as a result of the vandalism — but calls to the restaurant today have gone unanswered, suggesting that they might be closed for a tiny bit longer.

Just minutes before 900 was fire bombed, Rosemont cocktail spot and restaurant Pot Masson, which opened in 2015, had more or less the same thing happen. CTV reports that around 4:40 a.m., two men smashed the window and tried to light a fire before fleeing. Weirdly, it was the second time Pot Masson was vandalized in a week — a molotov cocktail was thrown through the restaurant window early on December 20, when employees were still present. Despite this double-down disaster, Pot Masson is already open again.

No arrests were made in either case — and no suspects even sighted at No 900, and unlike in some past cases in other neighbourhoods, there’s no clear reason for why these places were targeted, and neither one has previously drawn police attention.

Both restaurants are reassuring customers on Facebook that they’re there to stay in their respective neighbourhoods.

• Molotov cocktail attacks strike 2 Montreal businesses [CBC]
• Pot Masson restaurant targeted by arsonists twice in a week [CTV]
• New Rosemont Restaurant Pot Masson is 98% Done [EMTL]
• Saint-Henri Restaurant Le Smoking Vallée Tagged With Anti-Gentrification Graffiti [EMTL]