A Prominent Old Montreal Restaurant Appears to Be for Sale

Old Montreal restaurant Les 400 Coups is on the market.

According to a listing on real estate agency Sutton’s website, Les 400 Coups is up for sale for $159,000 — and a deeper dive into the restaurant’s ownership shows that it may have already changed hands once this year.

The Quebec government’s business registry shows Jorge Da Silva Sr. (who owned now-closed pizzeria Nolana, amongst others) as owner of “Restaurant Les 400 Coups” up until February 2017, when the business is listed as no longer active — obviously that doesn’t mean Les 400 Coups closed, but it could highlight a change of ownership.

However, another listing with the same dossier number but a different name (“Les 400 Coups Inc.”) shows the business as still active (at the same place of business on Notre-Dame East), with Da Silva as owner — on top of that, both 400 Coups listings declare the business to have filed for bankruptcy.

It gets a little messier: a third listing, active only since March 2017, lists the restaurant under the name “400 Coups”, along with a different owner, named Larisa Baintan. The business under Baintan’s name is not listed as being in bankruptcy. In Quebec, when a business has more than one owner, all owners are typically listed together under one business, not as separate businesses as is the case here.

So: what on earth is going on at Les 400 Coups? Despite a couple of chef shuffles since 2016, the restaurant appears to have been running smoothly — Sutton’s listing says that the restaurant’s revenue is around a healthy $1.3 million per year ($25,000 per week).

To add to the intrigue, another Da Silva restaurant is also on the market: Portuguese tavern Taberna, open since 2016, is also listed as for sale on Sutton’s site, at $299,000. The Quebec government registry shows Da Silva as owner there, too.

So, why is Da Silva shuffling or selling restaurants? It’s not immediately apparent, but Eater has reached out to Les 400 Coups for some clarification on who exactly owns and runs the restaurant right now.

• Les 400 Coups Has a New Chef — And Other News [EMTL]
• Find ‘Unpretentious’ Portuguese Fare at Taberna [EMTL]
• 400 Rue Notre-Dame E [Sutton]
• 368 Rue St-Paul O [Sutton]