Brownstein: Lavishly restored Le 9e is ‘love letter to the city’

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This can be a rarity: At a time when builders may be too fast to neglect and to demolish metropolis landmarks to make method for extra condos and skyscrapers, a blast from the previous has been lovingly and lavishly preserved and is coming again to life.

Shocker.

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Welcome to Le 9e, a shocking, 29,000 square-foot artwork deco house containing a restaurant, two non-public eating rooms, two bars and an occasions space that pays tribute to a bygone period. Architecturally and design talking, that’s.

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As of Might 17, Île de France, the restaurant portion of the house, might be open to the general public for his or her eating and browsing pleasure.

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With the closing of the downtown Eaton’s division retailer in 1999, additionally bidding adieu was its legendary ninth-floor restaurant. The division retailer’s serviceable interiors will not be recollected by many, however the identical can’t be mentioned for the restaurant, from its majestic facade right down to its intricately designed oak flooring and virtually all the things in between.

Your complete edifice, constructed a century again, was bought by the Ivanhoé Cambridge actual property group in 1999, and whereas the Eaton Centre quickly got here into being, the ninth-floor resto was to take a seat empty for the previous 25 years. However by a quirk of fine fortune and destiny, the provincial authorities’s Ministry of Tradition and Communications had been fast to deem the restaurant a heritage web site, this making certain its decor could be stored.

Regardless, there was no assure the restaurant would ever return. The hope was that some civic-minded entrepreneurs would step in, with extra of a watch towards preservation than revenue.

Unbeknownst to most, a bunch of entrepreneurs did enter the fray in 2016 and has labored with Ivanhoé Cambridge ever since to attain that dream.

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The chair of the group working Le 9e is investor/philanthropist Jeff Baikowitz, a usually most low-profile govt who has performed a pivot position within the financing of such iconic metropolis restos as Joe Beef, Liverpool Home, Vin Papillon, McKiernan, Bistro La Franquette and Park.

“This can be a ardour mission, pure and easy,” Baikowitz says whereas conducting a non-public tour of the brand new facility, from the eating rooms to the restrooms. “It’s not about being profitable. The attention-grabbing factor about everyone concerned this mission was that nobody checked out it as a revenue centre.

“All people had been annoyed for 25 years, as a result of now we have one of many best artwork deco eating rooms on the earth and it had simply been accumulating mud. All of us felt this needed to be given again to town. It by no means made sense in any other case.”

Baikowitz remembers coming to the unique restaurant as a child within the days when, in response to the lore, the blue-haired set would lunch on de-crusted cucumber sandwiches served on a doily.

“Nevertheless it was the decor that stood out most for me. The meals wasn’t inaccessible. It wasn’t Michelin-style eating. However the room was at all times grand. And the look of the place now could be precisely the way in which it was.”

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Baikowitz is circumspect concerning the sum of money his group has invested on Le 9e mission however suffice it to say that it far exceeds what sums spent on any of his different eating places. “Greater than all of these locations mixed,” he acknowledges.

“We had been additionally most lucky in having Ivanhoé constructing the house for us and the EVOC Structure agency finishing up the oh-so-detailed renovation work as licensed by the MCC,” Baikowitz says. “The aim was to deliver it again to the 1931 specs, they usually did.”

The Île de France, which can finally be open seven days per week for lunch and dinner, sits 100, whereas the 2 non-public eating rooms, which may be booked for common use, can every accommodate 20 patrons. The occasion house, which might maintain as much as 500, might be out there for hire for personal features — from charity galas to weddings — in addition to cultural actions. The latter might be run by former Only for Laughs exec and co-founder Andy Nulman.

“We’ve already booked 24 Candlelight Live shows within the first 12 months in addition to different ticketed occasions to come back,” Nulman says. “And we’re simply getting began.”

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In getting down to discover a workforce chief to supervise all the operation, Baikowitz consulted Joe Beef founders David McMillan and Fred Morin.

“I requested them who could be the very best supervisor of operations for a mission like this and David mentioned there was one man, however he’s a Montrealer and he’s in Halifax working for the Oliver and Bonancini nationwide chain. He mentioned he wouldn’t come again for anything, however he would come again for this.”

And so Marco Gucciardi, finest identified right here for his involvement with Bar George and the Burgundy Lion group, did come again to grow to be Le 9e’s operations director.

“I began off as a restaurant server as a really younger man, and I by no means stopped working within the business,” notes Gucciardi, who was as soon as a Milos server. “Whereas working in Halifax, Jeff got here and seduced me to this mission. That is simply such an bold mission and I couldn’t be extra enthusiastic about coming house once more for this.”

Gucciardi, in flip, is pumped that Andrew Whibley — Cloakroom, Dominion Bar — has been conscripted to grow to be Le 9e’s beverage director and operator of the cocktail bar.

The group spared no expense, both, in signing up native kitchen stars Liam Hopkins — Hopkins, McKiernan, Park — as govt chef and Derek Dammann — Maison Publique, McKiernan — as culinary director.

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“The problem goes to be to hit the mark for everyone who has sturdy reminiscences of the house,” Hopkins says. “It is going to be French inspiration, however we gained’t be beholden to it. Much less basic French, however a little bit bit extra Mediterranean affect as nicely. We’re attempting to have some enjoyable with all of it.”

“We’ve labored nicely collectively prior to now, and we naturally jive collectively. We’re attempting to faucet into the nostalgia that everybody has from right here,” says Dammann, who returns to the kitchen following the closing of Maison Publique final August.

Provides Hopkins: “With meals and labour prices getting larger on a regular basis, our aim is to maintain our costs as accessible as doable. We may have choices that match a whole lot of budgets. This can be a heritage house and a complete new vibe for Montrealers. I don’t have sturdy reminiscences of the house, however my mom remembers her mom taking her right here. They weren’t vastly rich, so it was fairly the expertise for them.”

However the query that begs to be requested is whether or not patrons will wend their method downtown — usually a maze of building websites — to partake within the expertise.

“Many of the connoisseur downtown eating places nowadays are full and doing fairly nicely,” Gucciardi claims.

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“Individuals have been much less skeptical of late going downtown to eat, figuring out that there are a whole lot of choices within the space,” Whibley suggests.

The tour continues with Baikowitz, stating smaller touches just like the house’s unique monelle alloys, the lighting and washroom sinks.

“About the one issues which can be new listed here are the urinals,” Baikowitz muses whereas trying out the restrooms.

And for that we are able to all be grateful.

“Le 9e has actually been all about transcending the tendencies,” Baikowitz rhapsodizes. “We need to deliver again the magic of a basic restaurant that served multi-generations.” Pause. “That is actually our love letter to Montreal.”

bbrownstein@postmedia.com

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