Almost two years after closing in controversy, Thursday’s on Crescent Street is still on sale, and the legendary resto-bar could remain so for a long time to come, as the pandemic and zoning rules have drastically chilled potential buyers.
There was a time when the tenants would have fought to get their hands on this huge three-story building, whose basement nightclub was all the rage in the metropolis during the 1970s and 1980s. But the health crisis, which began a few weeks after the closing of Thursday’s, will have got the better of what remained of the nightlife in the city center.
“The people of Montreal no longer want to go to Crescent, and it started before COVID-19. Besides, people now prefer to go to smaller places. A three-story restaurant-bar like Thursday’s will never be profitable again, ”says businessman Peter Sergakis, who had publicly shown his interest in the restaurant-bar in the days following its sale. .
Although he made his fortune in the restaurant and bar world, Peter Sergakis wanted to acquire Thursday’s to demolish it and turn it into a ten-story condo building. But faced with the City’s refusal to change the zoning to authorize constructions of more than three floors in the area, the contractor ended up dropping the project. The owner of the building, Bernard Ragueneau, admits that he would surely have sold it already if the construction of condo towers was allowed.
Unlike Peter Sergakis, however, he is convinced that taking over the restaurant-bar in its current form would prove profitable.
Negotiable price
“It’s been profitable for 40 years, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t be anymore […] Of course, I would prefer it to remain a restaurant-bar, but at this stage, I don’t care if the new owner wants to demolish it. All I want is to sell, ”insists the octogenarian, whose sons have moved away from the family business in recent years, tiredly.
For lack of succession, Bernard Ragueneau had chosen in 2018 to cede the management of the restaurant-bar to the Nakis family, who owns the Sir Winston Churchill Pub next door, in addition to being a shareholder in several Montreal establishments, such as Da Giovanni. and the Chez Parée cabaret.
The collaboration between the Nakis and the Ragueneau ended with a fishtail in January 2020. The day after the New Year’s festivities, Thursday’s managers had chosen to close the door without warning, taking it by surprise the hundred or so employees of the establishment who protested in the media about this cavalier decision.
Since then, the building has remained vacant, but remains listed at around ten million dollars, which roughly corresponds to the value of the property assessment. “We are ready to negotiate and go down further. So far, we have had several offers of eight and nine million, but the buyers did not have the kidneys strong enough to go to the bank, ”laments Bernard Ragueneau.
A heritage issue
Chef Dany Bolduc, who owns the H4C and La Sobremesa restaurants, reveals that he was approached this summer by the Ragueneaus to sign a lease with them to reopen the restaurant-bar, at least until a new owner is found. for the building. Discussions are currently broken off, but Mr. Bolduc told the To have to always be open to the proposal.
“I had the chance to tour the building and was amazed at how in good condition it was. Everything is fitted out to accommodate a large number of people. It is very rare to see such high standards in catering today, ”he insists.
However, Dany Bolduc does not understand how an investor could, under current conditions, acquire this old building without the zoning being changed. “It would be surprising for a bank to agree to lend money if it is only for a three-story restaurant-bar. Income now, with COVID, is too uncertain. With the income from a condo tower above the restaurant, there would be much less risk. This is why many restaurants today are on the first floor of residential buildings, ”explains the one who believes that the preservation of Thursday’s is reconcilable with the erection of a condo building just above. above.
However, Heritage Montreal is not of the same opinion, especially since the building has a certain cachet with its Victorian architecture, emblematic of the rest of Crescent Street. “We must preserve as much as possible these buildings which have made Montreal’s reputation as a city of vie de Nuit. If we build large glass towers with condos like in all major American cities, what will make Montreal unique? Asks Taika Baillargeon, policy director at Heritage Montreal.