Bar Dominion calls out Valérie Plante and City of Montreal for prolonged construction blocking downtown storefront

The owners of Bar Dominion made a statement on Instagram today decrying the prolonged construction that has blocked their Metcalfe Street storefront since they opened five months ago. Located in the former Dominion Square Tavern, Dominion 2.0 was launched in late September by the people behind the restaurant Provisions and Cloakroom Bar, who say they put years of work into maintaining and renovating the iconic downtown space.

In their statement, owners said they fear their new establishment will suffer the same fate as their Plateau restaurant Provisions 418 “which closed due to the incompetence of a city that laughs in the face of small business,” they say.

“Since March 4, the access that was only possible via sidewalks has been reduced to only one access via the north. Our suppliers refuse to deliver to us because they no longer have access. Passersby are no longer passing our store — it’s just impossible. Our incomes have fallen 50% overnight since the city chose to encircle us at the bottom of a dead-end sidewalk, in the middle of three construction sites. The city is unreasonable, and we’re paying for it.”

The statement went on to say that Plante herself visited Bar Dominion during their first week of operation, “to personally commit to the work being carried out intelligently so as not to repeat the same disaster as the one in the Plateau.”

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A post shared by Bar Dominion (@bardominion)

A city official noted today that “the sidewalk has been blocked (on Metcalfe) because pieces of the neighbouring Avis parking lot building were at risk of collapsing onto the sidewalk. It was therefore crucial to create a safety perimeter to avoid potentially serious accidents.”

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