Bar Chez Roger

Historic Beaubien Street Bar Chez Roger Reopens After All | Eater Montreal

"Reopened last week after announcing a permanent closure in mid-April, I found the 80-year-old Rosemont institution now owned by Loïc Gauthier and his partner Maxime Lalonde, who purchased it from Normand Guérin (Guérin had run the place for the last 20 years). Guérin blamed the closure on a lease dispute with the building’s owner, but Gauthier and Lalonde were able to reach a compromise despite restrictions tied to the residential units above the space. Manager Lotfi Belgherbi, who has been running the bar since it reopened, told me the look has been refreshed with a lot more greenery and the drinks menu updated so that all wines are privately imported and some are natural, changes intended to appeal to a younger crowd. The bar will keep its identity distinct from the neighbouring bistro but the hope is that locals will increasingly treat them as a single destination — apéro at one side, dinner at the other, then back for a digestif — and with Gauthier at the helm of both places there should be more intentional coordination. The reopening was popular but constrained by public-health measures (capacity limited to 50% of licensed capacity, seated clientele only, and a 1 a.m. closing time)." - Valerie Silva