Quintessential Mile End Turkish Restaurant Goes Under — and Other Closures

MILE END — Laurier Avenue go-to for mezze, pide, and other Turkish delights Barbounya has unceremoniously shuttered in recent days. It opened in 2013 and was the neighbourhood’s sole Turkish dining option for much of that time (now there’s also Mirazu on St-Laurent) — chef Fisun Ercan of Verdun’s Restaurant Su headed it up until May this year, when she and co-owner Edward Zaki (Thazard, Chez Victoire) departed, selling the restaurant, with Ercan leaving her recipes to the new owners to continue operations. Reliable sources suggest that one of the new partners had to leave the country, while miscellaneous but unspecified issues among the new trio of owners put a wrench in the operations. Now, the restaurant is defunct and its space cleared out.

Porco/Facebook

NDG — Monkland Avenue “Italian soul” spot Porco, known for meaty pork sandwiches, has cut back its operations after a little over a year in business. The restaurant is effectively closed to the public but still doing catering and private events, but it seems that a reopening is in the works, with a Facebook status noting that “Our Porco family is undergoing some changes”.

PLATEAU — Homey bakery Mr. Pinchot has closed its doors on Brébeuf street for a second time. As a note on Facebook explains, the bakery closed in 2016 due to the death of owner Guitta before her husband eventually reopened it. That proved to be difficult for him, so a new manager was put in place to run the side-street go-to for bread, croissants and more. Without specifying details (but apparently due to management issues), the bakery was “forced to close” in recent weeks, but the owner is exploring avenues to reopen it, including selling the business. Anybody who wants to rescue this cute spot, take note.

PLATEAU — Right nearby, BYOB Chinese and Thai eatery Wok du Chef has shuttered and emptied out its premises on the corner of Mont-Royal and de la Roche.

GRIFFINTOWN — In case you missed it, gastronomic destination Hvor closed last week, but is preparing for a rebirth as a Latin American grill restaurant.

Seen any bankruptcy notices or papered-over windows in your neighbourhood? Tell us about it.

• Barbounya Changes Owners (and Other News) [EMTL]
• Porco is Now Open and Putting Pork on Forks on Monkland [EMTL]
• Griffintown Dining Destination Hvor Announces Its Closure [EMTL]