Maison Publique appeals to the city after restaurant loses right to a terrasse

UPDATE 8 p.m. The Montreal Gazette is reporting that Plateau borough mayor Luc Rabouin has confirmed that Maison Publique will be allowed to have their terrasse next summer after all. This follows discussions with about half a dozen restaurants facing a similar situation and is not, according to Rabouin, a policy reversal.

Esteemed Montreal restaurant Maison Publique is appealing to the city and directly to Mayor Valérie Plante to ask why they won’t have the right to set up and serve clients on a terrasse next summer. Chef/owner Derek Dammann posted about how their terrasse allowed the Plateau restaurant to stay afloat this summer, anticipating a winter of anxiety without the prospect of outdoor dining at Maison Publique come spring.

“This little terrasse saved my business this summer. 12 seats, 24 covers a night, no infractions, no late nights, neighbours came often to enjoy the beautiful space we created.
“Hard to explain the profound disappointment in receiving this letter from (the Plateau Mont-Royal borough) saying that I cannot have a terrasse next summer. Before the end of this season no less. Restaurants still have restrictions. What’s changed, Valérie Plante?
“What was once a hopeful sigh of relief will now be another cold winter living in small business purgatory.”
—Derek Dammann

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According to a report in Eater Montreal, Maison Publique and many other local restaurants were granted terrasse permits this year to help them through the pandemic. Some of them, Maison Publique included, remain in violation of borough bylaws involving the proximity of the terrasse to residential properties. The borough has made it clear that these exceptions won’t be made again in 2022.

For more on Maison Publique, please visit the restaurant’s website.

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