Another famous resto disappears from the Main…

MONTREAL – Another iconic institution on Montreal’s infamous Main has shut its doors.

The Euro Deli, a beloved Zagat-rated Italian eatery that had been in business for about 30 years shut its doors abruptly Sunday.

Owner Vincent Scanzano was not available for comment, but the owner of the building, Alex Gevremovic, said that Hydro-Quebec had cut the power to the business, likely due to missed payment.

Gevremovic noted that the restaurant had become a casualty of an increasingly difficult business climate along Boulevard St. Laurent. Many of the businesses have lost much of their clientele after a spate of construction five years ago, only to be hit by increasing municipal taxes.

“When I bought this building six years ago, the taxes were $18,000,” Gevremovic said.

“Now they’re $41,000.”

The closure of the Euro Deli was so sudden that a current menu with prices could still be seen scribbled on the wall of the restaurant.

Hungry passersby who hadn’t got the news were still trying to grab a bite at the shuttered eatery Wednesday.

“This is too bad,” mourned Marie-Hélène Brousseau. “An institution is gone.”

As different kinds of businesses moved into the Main and design firms replaced corner groceries, the surrounding neighbourhood seems to have drifted from its working class roots.

Even with street closures, the Euro Deli was known to those who worked on the street as an inexpensive place and a welcome change from chain restaurants crowded around it.

“It’s a landmark: everybody loved it,” said Jessica Bakos, once a regular customer.

“Even just the people who hung out on the stairs were a culture in itself on the Main. I’m really sad.”