Brasserie T! announced Wednesday afternoon the immediate closure of its three restaurants located in Montreal, Sainte-Thérèse and Brossard, as well as that of the counter it had opened at Time Out Market.
This would be a decision taken “with regret and as a very last resort,” the company said in a press release.
“Shareholders are already looking for professionals in this field willing to acquire the relevant establishments and hire current employees. They were informed of the news on Wednesday morning,” it was indicated.
Pandemic and inflation involved
According to the chef and co-founder of the group, Normand Laprise, restaurant traffic was good, but the company was unable to recover from the pandemic which “occurred at the worst time in the network’s development.”
“The operating costs of our production kitchen, located on Beaumont, were too high to supply only three branches. So, our operations were loss-making,” he explained, adding that inflation also had its role to play.
The 130 brewery employees laid off will receive their pay as well as their bonuses and any amount accrued for their vacations.
“We have reached the end of our financial resources,” underlined Christine Lamarche, partner and co-founder. “Since the first months of the year are always more difficult financially in restaurants, we were not able to face them for the next year.”
For their part, the cooks of the restaurant Toqué! will return to the kitchen on January 10th.