Businesses Keep Tumbling on the Main As 19-Year-Old Laïka Closes

Here’s more news of long-running establishments closing their doors: Plateau coffee-brunch-and-more spot Laïka has shuttered after nearly 19 years in business on St-Laurent.

Reporting the news, Le Journal de Montréal framed the closure as quite the mystery — it closed up quietly in January, then a few weeks later a perfunctory Facebook post announced that the café-bar was “temporarily not open” (read: closed), instructing followers to stay tuned. Since then, nothing, and Google has draped Laïka’s listing with an ominous red “permanently closed” banner.

On a side-note, the Journal wrote that Laïka had been open in its half-basement location for 15 years — it actually celebrated its 15th birthday in 2014. It’s part of a string of well-established haunts on St-Laurent closing: last week, Le Cagibi announced it would be closing and moving from its St-Laurent and St-Viateur location due to a rent hike, and last year, bar and music venue Le Divan Orange announced its imminent shut-down.

— Speaking of Le Divan Orange, the bar (a block north of Laïka) has set March 18 as its final evening of business, where Montreal band Avec Pas d’Casque will see the beloved concert space off into the sunset. The show is already sold out.

— In other closure news, Avenue des Pins French mainstay Laloux hasn’t closed. Rather, it seems that the restaurant suffered a burst pipe during the New Year’s cold snap and is doing renovations as it repairs the flooding, although Laloux was hardly forthcoming with details, waiting until mid-January to announce its temporary closure. Also, its building is reportedly for sale, for anybody with an interest in becoming Laloux’s landlord.

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

• Le resto-bar Laïka aurait fermé ses portes dans le plus grand des secrets après 15 ans de service [Le Journal de Montréal]
• Iconic Plateau Bar and Music Venue to Close in Spring — And Other Shutters
• Qu’est-ce qui se passe avec le réputé restaurant Laloux? [Le Journal de Montréal]