Montreal, a festive city? Yes, but perhaps not 24 hours a day, suggest the bar owners interviewed, not very enthusiastic about the City’s project which would allow them to open all night in certain sectors of Montreal. A “low-paying” initiative, according to them, which would open the door to abuse.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. Culturally in Quebec, we eat early, we go out early and we party until 3 a.m., says Nazim Tedjini, owner of La Voûte, a bar located in Old Montreal. In Europe, people will eat much later, go out much later. They just shift attendance times. »
The Nightlife Policy will be subject to public consultation next week. “Montréal is a festive city, recognized for its nocturnal and creative vitality, here as elsewhere,” declared Luc Rabouin, president of the executive committee and interim head of economic and commercial development, in a press release published at the end of January. The experience of other large cities around the world demonstrates that nightlife offers an important lever of economic, cultural and tourist vitality. »
“The Nightlife Policy project is the result of rigorous work and experimentation through several pilot projects which allowed the City to identify the best opportunities for Montreal in terms of the nighttime economy,” can also be read.
The neighborhoods called “nighttime vitality zones”, where opening hours would be extended, have not yet been identified.
However, if we expected bar owners to applaud the idea, the reality is quite different. Unconvinced that these overtime hours would really “pay off”, they fear an increase in alcohol abuse and safety problems for customers as well as for employees, many of whom are likely to balk at the idea of finishing their shift. work when people are getting ready to eat lunch. The noise generated by revelers in the early morning is also among the concerns raised.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Some bar owners fear an increase in alcohol abuse and security problems with the possible opening of bars all night.
“It’s an open door for alcohol abuse and other abuses,” adds the owner of La Voûte. We often see this when we close at 4 a.m. because of the time change. The last hour doesn’t necessarily pay off and there are more problems that arise. »
“When there are pilot projects, what happens is that all the people leaving the city find themselves at the same time, in a given neighborhood, which does not necessarily have the capacity to accommodate a large volume of customers,” he also emphasizes. He fears that history will repeat itself in the sectors of the city that will be targeted by the Policy.
Over the past few days, Nazim Tedjini has spoken to around ten bar owners. They were unanimous: “Not one of them jumps to the ceiling. »
On the side of the Nouvelle association des bars du Québec (NABQ), which has some 150 members, president Pierre Thibault also recognizes that the project provokes “more resistance than acceptance”.
“Are the customers at that time desirable or undesirable customers? asks Mr. Thibault, who wonders about the level of intoxication of night owls. Is it just the eternal “not sleeping” who are going to collect there? Will this move nighttime roaming around establishments? »
The one who is also co-owner of the Taverne Saint-Sacrement on the Plateau Mont-Royal questions the availability of police personnel called to intervene. He also believes employees, especially doormen, should be trained to deal with night owls.
“It remains an exploratory project in which we were not involved,” he emphasizes.
One thing is certain, if his neighborhood were among the “nocturnal vitality zones”, Mr. Thibault would not consider continuing to serve beer after 3 a.m. “At Taverne Saint-Sacrement, we already have a healthy balance. We wouldn’t want to weaken it. »
An economic lever?
Further south, in the Latin Quarter, the owner of the Saint-Bock brewery, Martin Guimond, finds the idea “good” on paper, but difficult to envisage in reality.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Martin Guimond, owner of the Saint-Bock brewery
This is because, at the moment, employees and customers are difficult to find. “Before the pandemic, we opened at noon and closed at 3 a.m., almost pushing people out. We turned on the lights,” he says.
Today I open at 4 p.m. and at 10 p.m. I close because there is no one there. I’m not going to stay open 24 hours waiting for customers who will never come.
Martin Guimond, owner of the Saint-Bock brewery
“If someone asks me, tomorrow morning I would like to open for 24 hours, the answer is no,” he said. It is proposed as an economic springboard. I am very skeptical. It’s like saying that bars will revive the economy. I have big doubts. »