A new pub aiming to produce no waste whatsoever is soon to open on the St-Hubert Plaza.
Métro reports that La Cale will take transform a former clothing store in between Bélanger and St-Zotique into a bar with space for around a hundred people, opening later in the spring.
Microbrewed beers and house cocktails will be two of the main offerings on the booze side; food will also be served, and the space will also have events space for music, comedy, theatre, and other shows.
A group of four locals with backgrounds in the arts and music scenes are behind La Cale, which looks to be an unpretentious bar de quartier for Petite-Patrie.
In order to generate absolutely no trash, the bar’s owners plan to take a variety of measures: paper napkins and plastic straws won’t be used. No cocktail umbrellas here: the bar will use only edible garnishes for drinks. The bar also isn’t falling back hard on recyclables: glass bottles will also be out.
Most menu items will be available in variable sizes, so that customers can order only what they need and avoid throwing away leftovers. All organic waste will be composted, somewhat of a rarity in food service establishments.
Take-out food will be available, but no paper or plastic packaging will be used there — instead, to-go plates will be put in mason jars, with customers paying a refundable deposit, or they can just keep the jars.
In another environmental nod, the bar will also focus on Quebec products, rather than bringing produce in from afar.
It seems that the concept has some solid support: the owners crowdsourced some of their funding, and ended up earning double the number of donations they required. It’s the first bar in Montreal to aspire to generate no waste, although some, such as downtown bars Pamplemouse and Pelicano are actively making attempts to move in a similar direction. One coffee shop, Café Le 5e in Verdun, is also taking on a similar challenge.
- La Cale - Pub Zéro Déchet [Facebook]
- Un pub zéro déchet prochainement sur la Plaza [Métro]