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Bad Timing for Proposed Water Main Repairs on Notre-Dame Creates Terrasse Tensions Among Little Burgundy Restaurants

Plus, Le Fricot to stop slinging lobster rolls, and OD stars pull out of Crusty’s

by Ivy Lerner-Frank
outdoor restaurant dining Stem Bar/Supplied

The city has scheduled long-delayed work to repair water mains in Little Burgundy to start in mid-April, dashing the outdoor dining hopes of the food businesses located on the affected Notre-Dame West stretch between Vinet and Atwater. Restaurants and cafes seeking to renew their terrasse licenses received letters dated March 22 informing them that outdoor spaces would only be able to open in July, eliminating some of the most revenue-generating months of the summer. On March 24, Toby Lyle, co-owner of Burgundy Lion, took to his Facebook page to decry the turn of events, while fellow representatives from Pizzeria Geppetto, the Joe Beef Group, and September Café and Stem Bar spoke to the Montreal Gazette about the move, coming on the heels of two precarious pandemic years for the restaurant industry.

But, according to a subsequent post from Lyle, Sud-Ouest borough mayor Benoit Dorais has since met with Lyle and other business owners to discuss the feasibility of delaying construction, effecting the repairs in stages, or a combined approach with the goal of minimizing harm to businesses.

Little Burgundy Acadian Seafood Spot Le Fricot Will Close on April 10

Citing inflation and the rising cost of raw materials, the team behind Acadian seafood shack Le Fricot have announced their closure, effective April 10. “It was no longer possible for us to fulfill the mission we had given ourselves,” Fricot owners Simon Dunn, Antoine Legault, Éric Le François, and Alex Lejeune revealed on their Instagram and Facebook pages on Monday. “This mission was to bring to Montreal a small taste of Acadia, unpretentious and relaxed, with fresh products and worked with love.” A final seafood blowout will take place on April 9. But fear not: Neighbouring big sister La Drinkerie Ste-Cunégonde will take over the premises, expanding its space and food offering.

Supreme Court Dismisses Fast-Food Industry’s Challenge to Borough’s 2016 Healthy Initiatives Zoning Bylaw

Fast-food restaurants in the Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough will continue to be excluded from Sherbrooke Street, Monkland Avenue, and Queen Mary Road, after Canada’s Supreme Court dismissed a legal challenge to the borough’s 2016 healthy living bylaw from Restaurants Canada and major chains, CBC reports. The policy — part of a suite of incentives including encouraging community gardens, farmers’ markets, biking, and car-sharing — limited fast-food restaurants to certain blocks of Décarie Boulevard, Saint-Jacques Street, and the Plaza Côte-des-Neiges Shopping Centre. Existing restaurants are not affected by the zoning bylaw.

Occupation Double Couple Drop Out of Crusty’s

Influencers and OD South Africa stars Rym Nebbak and Chris Robins have cut ties with the other owners of NDG fast food restaurant Crusty’s, NightLife reports. While the couple pulled out of the partnership six days after the September 2021 opening, the split was only announced through their Instagram stories on March 22, after legal negotiations for the split were finalized. In separate statements and an interview with Narcity, Nebbak and Robins cite differences in their vision for the break.

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