St-Henri Has an Affordable New Breakfast and Lunch Counter in Hank

There’s a new daytime breakfast and lunch nook in St-Henri, with Hank now open, from the owner of neighbouring pie shop Rustique, Ryan Bloom (see also: Tejano).

Hank takes over the space that was formerly Rustique’s savoury pie shop, with the entire pie operation now consolidated into Rustique’s main store.

Bloom tells Eater that his goal with Hank is to offer something accessible to locals.

“As I’ve seen this neighbourhood evolve I’m seeing that there’s a void in healthy, freshly prepared food that is quick and priced in such a way that someone working, or a student can afford.”

“Why [at other places] is a burger $1.99 and a salad is $8?”

And Bloom has done a good job keeping it affordable, and not just by gentrified St-Henri standards — it’s $3-6 for breakfast items, and $5-8 for lunches, with a coffee from Hudson roaster Kaito just an extra dollar on top of food purchases.

Hank/Supplied

The all-vegetarian menu includes breakfast options like homemade chia puddings in several flavours, juices, smoothies, overnight oats, sandwiched breakfast frittatas, and Greek yogurt parfaits with house-made granola. For lunch, options might include salads (soba noodles with ponzu dressing; a Southwestern brown rice option with beans and corn), and sandwiches like a vegan Cubano, or whipped goat cheese with roasted peppers and sumac.

With a tiny storefront, Hank is definitely a grab and go counter, but it benefits from being physically connected to the larger Rustique — that’s allowing Bloom’s team to bake bread on-site, and grow produce in a garden behind; all other produce is sourced from the Atwater Market.

Bloom says he wants it to be the kind of place that can get customers in and out in just three minutes — “comparable to a fast food outlet”, he says. That means Hank is ditching cash payments, only allowing cards.

STATUS — Hank is open at 4619 Notre-Dame W from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday, closed weekends.

• Hank [Official]
• St-Henri Pie Pros Get Savoury With a New Store [EMTL]