MONTREAL — It’s the end of an era: the owners of mom-and-pop-run Magnan’s Tavern announced that the steakhouse would be closing its doors after 82 years in business.
“It is with great sadness and emotion that the Magnan family announced to its employees the closure of the famous Taverne Magnan, opened in 1932 by Marie-Ange and Armand Magnan,” the restaurant confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.
The Boucherie Magnan Kitchen at the Quartier Dix30 in Brossard will continue to operate but the Pointe-Saint-Charles’ restaurant will shut down for good on December 21.
“It was best when it was a Tavern,” wrote another famous Montreal icon, Eddy Nolan, on Global Montreal’s Facebook page. “Another loss for the Point.”
J. F. Houpert wrote, “I’m sad about them closing, I live around the corner and it’s my go to place when people visit. They always want to go to Magnan.”
“Been there forever – always was the best steakhouse in Montreal, long before the chains arrived,” noted Lynda Moore.
“Wow. It will be sorely missed!”
Other Global Montreal viewers took a more sanguine view.
“Loved the place for many years, but lately their prices have skyrocketed,” wrote Ron Boucher Sr. “I guess they got to be too expensive for the average Joe.”
Why is it closing?
The owners of the steakhouse said that Champlain Bridge and Turcot Interchange construction has been hurting business, not to mention the high price of beef and competition from other restaurants.
“Despite efforts to renovate, along with significant investments, we were not able to ensure the profitability of the institution that is so dear to our hearts,” the owners noted in a statement.
What they didn’t mention, however, was the fact that the restaurant has been renegotiating its employees’ collective agreement.
The Teamsters Union said that staff had agreed to very low wage increases in recent years to ensure the institution’s survival. It said that the restaurant was not offering severance to its 65 employees, some of whom had been working there for 40 years.
“I was assured that the decision had nothing to do with the negotiations,” said Michel Richard, union representative of Local 1791 of the Teamsters Union, in a statement.
“The employer does not seem to want to give severance, despite the years of service of many of its workers.”
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