Quebec Pushes Back Last Call for Restaurants and Bars in Time for US Border Reopening and Montreal Pride

Quebec Pushes Back Last Call for Restaurants and Bars in Time for US Border Reopening and Montreal Pride

Starting on August 1, the last call for drinks at Quebec bars, microbreweries, and restaurants will be rolled back an hour to 1 a.m., with doors closing at 2 a.m. Other public health restrictions, such as those that mandate mask wearing while standing, forbid dancing, and require reduced capacity at these establishments, will remain in effect.

The province’s health ministry announced the news in a Monday release that included a number of other relaxations, including allowing for larger crowds at stadiums and festivals. The rule change comes on the heels of escalating calls from certain bar owners pleading with the government to rethink coronavirus regulations in the lead-up to August 9: the day that Montreal Pride kicks off and that Americans will be once again permitted to cross into Canada for non-essential travel — something that’s been banned for nearly 16 months.

St-Hubert BBQ Mulls Scrapping Canadiens Tie-Up After Appalling Draft Pick

Quebec-grown rotisserie chicken chain St-Hubert BBQ is contemplating pulling its advertising with the Montreal Canadiens after the hockey team made an egregious — and now widely derided — draft pick, the Montreal Gazette reports. On Friday evening, the team named Logan Mailloux as its first-round draft pick, even though the player had been recently charged with an incident that involved him showing teammates a photo, taken without consent, of an 18-year-old woman engaging in a sexual act with him — a crime that took place in November in Sweden, where he was playing for the SK Lejon. Mailloux had asked that he be recused from drafting this year, but the Habs didn’t listen, angering fans, the general public, and, as it turns out, an advertiser whose logo frequently appears on Bell Centre rink boards.

Peel Street Brasserie Chez Alexandre is Reportedly on the Brink of Bankruptcy

Downtown French brasserie Chez Alexandre filed for protection under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act at the end of June, La Presse reports. Restaurant owner Alain Creton told the news outlet that this resulted from “a little misunderstanding” with his landlord, and that the restaurant has been overwhelmingly busy since eased coronavirus restrictions have allowed it to reopen. “Little,” however, hardly seems accurate given the figures provided in the article: The restaurant carries a deficit of $685,940, with its landlord, Édifice Hermès, as its largest creditor.

La Presse explains that Creton announced on July 16 that he had terminated his lease with the building, thereby compounding his debt: Under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, landlords may claim unpaid rent as well as a portion of future rent lost as a result of the termination. Until then, the restaurant’s former chef, Christian Peillon, had been its largest creditor. (Last February, the Administrative Labour Tribunal ruled that the restaurant pay Peillon three years in salary for his “constructive dismissal,” after Peillon alleged that Creton had unceremoniously replaced him with Michelin-starred Éric Lecerf while he was on vacation in 2018.)

The debt-settling proposal filed with the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy of Canada and accepted by Chez Alexandre’s landlord and main creditor would see Peillon only receiving 5 percent of what he is owed, La Presse reports; as a result, the restaurant’s former chef plans to contest it in court September 9. Chez Alexandre remains open on Peel Street despite the lease termination reportedly taking effect July 17.

• Chez Alexandre au Bord de La Faillite [La Presse]
• St-Hubert BBQ may ditch Canadiens after controversial draft choice [Montreal Gazette]