The future of the poutine restaurant La Banquise, which has stood on Rachel Street since 1955, will now pass through Quebec. The culinary institution announced on Tuesday its sale to the owners of the Ashton chain, based in the National Capital, which has also been banking on this emblematic dish for around fifty years.
Wishing to “move towards new challenges”, it was the owners of La Banquise since 1994, Annie Barsalou and her partner, Marc Latendresse, who approached Émily Adam and Jean-Christophe Lirette. The latter had acquired the chain of 23 poutine restaurants in 2022. They are also behind the Ti-Oui snack bar in Saint-Raymond.
“We recognized ourselves in Émily and Jean-Christophe, young dynamic and passionate entrepreneurs like us when we started when we took over the restaurant founded by my father,” commented Mme Barsalou via press release. Their vision and their way of doing things reassured us that La Banquise will remain La Banquise. »
La Banquise will therefore not become an Ashton branch in Montreal, but will be “operated independently”. “We don’t change a winning recipe,” assured Mr. Lirette in the same press release.
Recognizable by its queue that stretches down the sidewalk day and night, La Banquise offers a wide variety of topping combinations, from guacamole to smoked meat to vegetarian sausages. The new owners say the establishment will remain a “real poutine laboratory.”
The lack of succession being often a problem for culinary institutions whose owners are of retirement age, the Association Restauration Québec was delighted with this transaction. “This is a great example of a restaurant business transfer with a group of young entrepreneurs,” commented Martin Vézina, vice-president of public affairs for the organization.