St-Henri’s Lovely Mexican Sandwich Shop Has Closed Down — and Other Closures

ST-HENRI — Sad news from Notre-Dame West as Mexican sandwich spot Torteria Lupita announced its closure over the past weekend. A note posted to Facebook cited personal reasons, and the restaurant put together its final meat, cheese, and avocado-laden tortas on November 23. Lupita opened in mid-2016 under owner Sandra Soto, who grew up in Mexico City and honed her culinary experience at Olive & Gourmando. She crafted her own charming sandwich shop into an affordable neighbourhood hub, so it’s a shame to see one of only a handful of places in town for a great torta to close down.

PLATEAU — The people behind popular bars Le Majestique and Darling have closed down their fancy ice cream and café project, Confetti, which opened only a year ago on Mont-Royal next to Clark Street. While the establishment had a strong culinary showing and an elaborate design, it seems that it never got quite the foothold that its siblings over on the Main did. No reason was given publicly for the closure.

DOWNTOWN — Yet another victim of the long-running construction work on Bishop Street is 38-year-old Italian restaurant Ferrari. Per Global News, owner Elio Schiavi said he was simply losing too much money. The restaurant’s final service was in mid-November.

VERDUN — The final vestiges of American chain Dunkin’ Donuts are gone from Quebec — while Dunkin’ announced its departure from the province (and Canada) a year ago, one of the few remaining locations, on Wellington Street, morphed into “Deli Donuts”. Its offerings were, uh, very similar to Dunkin’ (although all of the chain’s logos were taken down or covered up), but now, it too has closed.

GRIFFINTOWN — After barely a year in business, South American grill restaurant Asado has closed its doors on Notre-Dame West. The space initially started out as locavore restaurant Hvor back in 2016, until its owners closed it and promptly reopened Asado in its place. A farewell note on Facebook suggests that new owners are preparing some kind of new (restaurant?) concept for the space.

QUARTIER DES SPECTACLES — Japanese-style hot dog counter Hotto Doggu has sort-of departed the Place-des-Arts area. Signage on its window indicates that the space is temporarily closed while it morphs into a ramen and poke restaurant, with plans to reopen at the end of November.

MILE END — Parc Avenue vegan counter Délicieux has closed after two and a half years in business. The owners of the popular Fruiterie Mile End opened it in 2017; signage in the window now suggests that neighbouring grocery store Épicerie Mile End will take over the space.

BROSSARD — Higher-end Dix30 Greek resto Estiatorio Skara closed its doors at the end of last month; no reason was given, although a closure notice was posted online.

Estiatorio Skara/Facebook screenshot

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

• Torteria Lupita Is Your Favourite New Montreal Sandwich Shop [EMTL]
• Bishop Street restaurant forced to close over Montreal construction woes [Global]
• Dunkin’ Donuts Has Given Up On Canada [EMTL]
• Griffintown’s Hvor Closes, Is Quickly Replaced With South American Grill [EMTL]