The co-owner of one of Montreal’s most-famous bagel shops says he has a plan to help his neighbours breathe easier.
Robert Morena of St-Viateur Bagel says a new filter from Europe will soon arrive that will ensure the air around his store is safe to inhale.
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His internationally famous store has been under fire from neighbours in the densely populated Mile End district who say they are tired of breathing dangerous fine particles from his wood-burning oven.
Neighbour Sarah Gilbert said she was heading to a city council meeting Monday night to demand Montreal force all the bagel shops in the area to stop using wood-burning ovens.
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She and her neighbours say the doughy goodness tastes the same if baked using alternative methods but Morena says the wood-fired oven is as Montreal as, well, the bagel.
He says his plan to save the bagels is city-approved and once the new filter is installed his oven’s particle emissions will be within legal limits.