Montreal’s Peruvian Sandwich Chain Is out of Business — and Other Closures

Here’s a round-up of a bunch of closures to know from the last few months.

DOWNTOWN, ETC — Peruvian mini-chain Sandouchon has closed the doors on all of its Montreal locations. It launched a few years back with a location in Les Cours Mont-Royal and some pretty interesting options by Montreal food court standards — sandwiches featuring lomo saltado or duck heart were a welcome departure from the stock-standard fare on offer elsewhere. It expanded to the Rockland Centre and Ville-St-Laurent in 2018, but recently all locations were shuttered to undertake “restructuring”, although there’s been no sign of a return for the company since.

PLATEAU — After less than a year on St-Denis Street, Sri Lankan restaurant Nama closed its doors over the St-Jean-Baptiste weekend, per an email from owner Jeya Sivans. One of few spots in town to serve Sri Lankan cuisine, particularly in a mid-range setting, it was a welcome addition to Montreal’s food scene when it arrived last August, but alas, it’s no longer.

PLATEAU — Also gone after less than a year is farm-to-table restaurant Clairon on Rachel Street near St-Denis. It opened in fall 2018 and garnered warm reviews, but closed “definitively” at the end of June with no further details given.

OLD MONTREAL — One of few high-end Mexican restaurants in town, Notre-Dame Street’s Emilianos has tucked away its tacos after about two and a half years in the biz.

GRIFFINTOWN — Le Local is no longer: One of the earlier restaurants to take on the rapidly developing area just west of Old Montreal, it has quietly closed its doors on William Street.

DOWNTOWN — Reliable Sichuan spot JCer has closed down on de Maisonneuve — a post to social media cites an oblique “business change” as the reason.

LATIN QUARTER — St-Denis Street karaoke bar C’est Si Bon is no longer — it shuttered in recent weeks with its social media presence completely deleted.

DOWNTOWN — Vowel-deficient Peel Street restaurant SLK RD appears to be out of business — its Facebook page has vanished, no reservations are available on OpenTable, and its phone line just keeps on going to voicemail. The restaurant was an attempt by the owners of chain eatery Houston Avenue to branch out into something different — but it seems that the overly vague “international cuisine” approach perhaps never really landed. A Houston Bar and Grill location that was right below SLK RD has also closed, around the same time.

PIERREFONDS — Longtime West Island watering hole Chez Paul had planned to pour out its last beer in late May...until it didn’t. A planned purchase of the 50-year-old bar’s building has stalled due to new flood maps drawn of the area, and as a result, the bar seems to be staying open for the foreseeable future.

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

• Meet Clairon, the Plateau’s Bright New Farm-To-Table Restaurant [EMTL]
• Meet the Plateau’s Soigné New Sri Lankan Restaurant, Nama [EMTL]
• Restaurant Emiliano’s Offers Four Pages of Mexican Fine Dining [EMTL]
• Meaty Old Montreal Restaurant Mercuri Is Closing, Moving, and Changing Format [EMTL]
• With Pierrefonds real estate deal in limbo, Chez Paul’s to stay open [Global]