Art's Cafe

Mile End Café Closes Due to Steep Rent Hike | Eater Montreal

"I watched a cozy Mile End breakfast-and-brunch haunt, Arts Café, fold under escalating rents after a photo of a moving truck outside—posted by local group Mile End Ensemble—made the situation public. Owner Grégory L. Paquet (who ran the corner spot with his mother, Diane Leclair, since 2012) confirmed the business had been closed to the public since Dec. 28, 2020, and said landlords first proposed a 40 percent rent increase in fall 2020 (40 percent in year one plus 7 percent each subsequent year for five years); Paquet and the landlords negotiated the initial hike down to 25 percent but could not agree on the 7 percent annual rises and later received an eviction notice to vacate by the end of their lease on April 1, 2021. The café, known for spotlighting seasonal ingredients and local art, has had a generally cordial relationship with its landlords in Paquet’s telling, who he says later visited and pleaded with them to stay; the landlords, Santos Brizuela and Mai Ly, say they pursued renegotiation after claiming lease violations (timely payment, unauthorized changes, security regulations) and that they’d opted into the CECRA pandemic rent-relief program, while also saying they were open to further negotiation. Paquet hopes Arts Café will eventually return in some form, even as he and his mother continue to pack up the current space." - Valerie Silva