Café Noir: A microcosm of east-end life
Life begins early at Café Noir. Most mornings before the sun rises a hard-working Walid Boussetta, who runs the franchise here, comes in to his café to oversee the day’s cooking and baking. That is when he doesn’t do it himself.
Slowly as the sun rises the regulars arrive. There is the jolly lady who distributes the 24 Heures newspaper at the Cremazie Metro. As she ends her shift she begins a chat-session punctually by scratching lotto tickets with her good friend, who sits at her usual corner spot. Their voices are loud and boisterous as they laugh at their luckless attempts to gain riches. Then there are the streams of regulars, each taking up a particular part of the café.
The interior here is decorated with pictures of Colombian coffee pickers, old-style coffee sacks and a lone traditional sombrero.
There are the bus drivers, the police, and of course the several single-moms who come in each morning to spend an hour with their children. One particular set sits to the left of me every morning when I’m in town, and I am always amused watching the young girl play cards with her mother. The girl doesn’t take off her hat, scarf, or coat – it would seem – regardless of season. Another young man brings in his guitar on weekends, and struts quietly for hours on end – to which nobody seems to mind.
A growing family-run Montreal café chain owned by a local Tunisian-born entrepreneur Boussetta, this café is a microcosm of life in this east-end area shadowed by the Metropolitan highway.
The employees here are friendly, hard working and even fun. There is Daphne, who is angelic, always with a smile, calling customers, “my dear”. The young Cambodian girl brings in her fan-club regularly, while the Tunisian guy has a set of very pretty young women on whom he accords special attention. Walid brings his family into the café. His young daughter contributes, cleaning tables and floors, then plays joyfully with the youngest boy – who befriends all.
The café serves a warm lunch popular among local businesses, great European-style croissants, pizzas, sandwiches, salads and deserts. The wide variety of pizzas includes Greek, vegetarian, chicken, Mexican, bacon and sausage – so it’s not for those looking to diet, but rather this is hearty fare.
Café Noir
Address: 430 Cremazie
Phone: [514] 381 6648
URL: http://www.cafenoir.ca
City, Province: Montreal, Quebec
Neighborhood: Downtown
Hours of Operation: Monday to Friday 5:00am – 23:00pm, Saturday and Sunday 7:00am – 23:00
Types of Credit Cards Accepted: Visa, Mastercard, American Express
