Four restaurants on Peel Street had an unpleasant surprise Friday evening when the Montreal Fire Department (SIM) forced the closure of their terraces for safety reasons, in the middle of the Grand Prix weekend. The terraces were able to reopen on Saturday, but without the marquees which protected them, thus leaving them exposed to the rain.
What there is to know
- Four terraces were closed by the Montreal Fire Safety Service (SIM) because the installations there did not meet safety standards.
- The operations director of Café Ferreira, Sandra Ferreira, published a video on her social networks in which she can be seen upset following the closure of her terrace which was full of customers.
- The SIM claims that the restaurateurs had been warned before the Grand Prix of the non-compliance of their installations.
- The terraces were able to reopen on Saturday, but without the marquees that covered them.
Sandra Ferreira cried her eyes out, recounting the ordeal she experienced Friday evening. In a video published on social networks, the operations director of Café Ferreira explains having received a visit from a “dozen firefighters” who asked her to empty the terrace of her restaurant, although it was full of customers.
“The firefighters came to tell us that the terrace is not compliant,” explains Sandra Ferreira in her video. They wait until the Friday of the Grand Prix to come, even though we have a full restaurant. And in front of everyone, they asked us to evacuate the terrace. »
The City had nevertheless authorized her establishment to open the terrace, although some adjustments had been deemed necessary, she said. In total, the owner would have spent more than $40,000 to welcome her customers to her terrace this year.
I ask them what happens if I don’t do it [évacuer la terrasse] and they tell me it’s the terrace or it’s the restaurant. I find it so cruel that you waited to tell us this [de faire] a scene in front of lots of people, with me bursting into tears.
Sandra Ferreira, Director of Operations at Café Ferreira
The statement of offense given to her mentions that she “did not take all the necessary measures to remove a dangerous condition”.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
The terrace of Café Ferreira
“ [Pour] all the restaurants on Peel Street, it was months of relentless relentlessness [pour avoir les terrasses], adds Sandra Ferreira. This weekend, I’m ashamed for my city, I’m ashamed that this is happening in front of our customers […] Everyone arrives, and the disappointment is that nothing happens on the street [Peel]. »
The mayor’s office “shaken”
The event sparked numerous reactions, particularly among elected officials from the metropolis.
The office of the mayor of the City of Montreal, Valérie Plante, said it was “shaken” by the testimony of Sandra Ferreira. He also assured that the SIM teams had “confirmed the conformity of the terraces on Rue Peel” and that they could all reopen during the day on Saturday.
“The SIM must ensure constant dialogue and continue the search for solutions to ensure the safety and vitality of the businesses that we all love,” added the mayor’s office.
“Besides the question of bad timing, I question the lack of leadership in the Ville-Marie district led by Valérie Plante, wrote on X the spokesperson for the official opposition in matters of public security, Abdelhaq Sari. Where is the consultation with all the stakeholders that the mayor is talking about? »
The owners had been warned
The SIM explains that it closed four terraces on Friday evening which were not compliant. This procedure took place as part of Operation Sentinel, which aims to ensure the compliance of establishments which welcome the public. This operation takes place four times a year when major festivities take place.
The SIM communications division head, Guy Lapointe, assures that the firefighters had been meeting the traders well before the Grand Prix.
“We met the owners a week and a half ago to tell them that it’s not the terrace, but the marquise [un petit chapiteau] which must be three meters away,” explains Guy Lapointe.
We asked them to move it, but we noticed [vendredi soir] that they had not followed the instructions.
Guy Lapointe, SIM communications division head
He rejects accusations from the operations director of Café Ferreira that the firefighters came without warning. Guy Lapointe explains that Operation Sentinel also aims to verify that traffic limits are respected. This is why they intervened in the presence of customers.
The general director of the Société de développement commercial de Montréal Centre-ville, Glenn Castanheira, expressed his “deep concern” about the measures taken by the SIM with regard to the terraces.
“This approach, initiated on the first day of the festivities, during a period of high tourist influx, raises serious concerns about its consequences on the economic vitality of certain merchants in our city center,” declares Glenn Castanheira.
The Montreal Firefighters Association reacts
The Montreal Firefighters’ Association distanced itself from the SIM operation, saying it was “irritated and deeply disappointed” to see its members “wrongly and intensely attacked” by several restaurateurs whose terrace was closed by the SIM .
She assured that the firefighters “had nothing to do with these interventions by the Montreal Fire Safety Service, the SIM”.
“The confusion comes from the fact that this spectacular operation, called Sentinel, was carried out by prevention agents, civilian employees, who, unfortunately, wear a uniform similar to that of firefighters,” declared the president of the Firefighters Association. , Chris Ross.
The authorities’ interventions did not displease only the restaurants whose terraces were covered. Marie-Pierre Burelle is the manager of the Ryu restaurant, on Peel Street. His establishment is the only one not to have installed a marquee on its terrace this year.
And yet, two agents stood in front of the doors of his establishment for almost half an hour while customers were present.
Customers were wondering what was going on […] Why would they come in if there are two police officers in front of the doors? [du restaurant] ? It emptied the terraces.
Marie-Pierre Burelle, manager of the Ryu restaurant
Difficult evening
The rain did not help the cause of the restaurateurs on Saturday evening. Although they had been reopened, the terraces on Peel Street were completely empty around 8 p.m., due to a lack of canopies to protect them from the weather.
In the vestibule of Café Ferreira, customers crowded together, while overworked employees flitted around. To describe how the evening unfolded, maître d’hôtel Claudia Ferreira had only one word. ” Wrong “.
The restaurant tried to find a new place for the nearly 80 people who had reservations on the terrace for dinner. Due to lack of space, a quarter of these reservations had to be canceled, according to Claudia Ferreira. “We did our best,” added the young woman, with a tired smile.
For Dominic Plouffe, who comes to dine on the terrace of Café Ferreira every year during the Grand Prix, the SIM’s intervention “makes no sense”. The customer, who had been waiting to be seated for around ten minutes, sympathized with the plight of the restaurateurs. “Now they have to reorganize everything inside, right during F1. It’s a lot of management,” he stressed.
A little further up the street, the Alexandre et Fils restaurant also had to say goodbye to a large number of customers. Alain Creton, owner of the establishment, however, acknowledges having received the warning from the SIM ten days before the intervention. “We look bad in Montreal,” commented the restaurateur, according to whom 70 reservations were canceled due to the rain, which represents nearly $7,000 in losses.