Longtime French Restaurant Chez L’Epicier Is Gone — and Other Notable Closures [Updated]

OLD MONTREAL — Chef Laurent Godbout’s renowned French spot Chez l’Épicier is closed, with Montreal Info initially reporting that it’s a temporary shutter, although no clear information was posted online. But now it looks like it’s permanent: even though the restaurant’s voicemail noted that the shutter was due to “circumstances beyond our control” and for an “indefinite period” — vague, to be sure, but it suggested that a reopening was planned.

Update (Feb 26): Contradicting all the above, a press release issued by Godbout after the closure was noticed tells a different story: noting that he’s ready to take a break, Godbout writes that he’s planning a road trip across Canada and the United States, as well as some kind of vague future project in Montreal. That means Chez l’Épicier is permanently closed and apparently not coming back. For what it’s worth, its sister restaurant (by the same name) in Palm Beach, Florida, is still open, but Godbout also decided not to renew the lease on that — the Journal de Montréal writes that it’ll close down this summer.

Pintxo/Facebook

PLATEAU — After thirteen years of patatas bravas, octopus and more, tapas mainstay Pintxo has closed on Mont-Royal Avenue. The restaurant opened a little further south, on Roy, back in 2005, and upgraded to bigger digs in 2015, adding a Spanish brunch to its line-up. But it’s not the end of the road for owner Miguel Aguilar — a Facebook post from the restaurant announces some kind of “ambitious project” for downtown Montreal, to open in the summer, although few details were offered.

PLATEAU — Right near Pintxo, big Mont-Royal Avenue pizza spot Romeo has also closed down after some 12 years on a prime space at the corner of Henri-Julien (and four years under its current ownership). The tone of the announcement — that the owners have had to give up on the project — suggests that it’s out of business.

MILE END — Excellent Parc Avenue pizza and pasta nook Carboni is no longer, with owners Publio Carboni and Claudia Marchese apparently having given up on the project after about three years in order to travel and blog (the restaurant’s Facebook page has shifted tone, and now documents their travels in the Caribbean). Between this and the recent closure of Farine, Mile End is now looking pretty light on quality pizza (although Magpie is still a great bet).

ROSEMONT — It seems that Montreal’s appetite for cowboy-themed bars may not be that great, as Papineau Avenue brewpub À La Fût announced its closure on Thursday. No details were provided beyond the fact that the shutter is immediate and definitive. It lasted less than a year in business, but the original À La Fût, in St-Tite, is unaffected.

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

• Closure of Chez l’Épicier [Montreal Info]
• Vieux-Montréal: le restaurant Chez L’Épicier ferme ses portes [Journal de Montréal]
• La chic pizzeria Romeo sur l’avenue Mont-Royal ferme ses portes [Nightlife]
• Carboni and Other Montreal Pizza Restaurants to Try Now [EMTL]
• Microbrasserie à la Fût Opens Its First Montreal Location [EMTL]