Boustan is a

Lebanese Lebanese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic * Lebanese people The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredie ...

restaurant chain in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

. It was established in 1986. ''Boustan'' is the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

word for

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History

Imad Smaidi became the full-time owner of the restaurant, after being a silent partner. Smaidi immigrated to Canada from

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

in 1972, studied engineering at

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and worked for

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before having to quit to run Boustan full-time. The restaurant moved several times before settling in its current location, 2020A Crescent Street in

downtown Montreal Downtown Montreal (French language, French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the ...

. Boustan has been frequented by, among others, former

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as suc ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...

and the now current

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. and some of the rosters from the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

and

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. Smaidi, due to his popularly, was called "Mr. Boustan" instead of his real name. Smaidi put the restaurant up for sale in early 2011. He eventually sold the restaurant to George and Peter Hatzimargaritis and Mario Daigneault on March 25, 2012 for an undisclosed sum.

Boustan chain

In 2014 Boustan opened a second location at 19 Ste Catherine East which serves the same menu as the original location. In 2015 Boustan opened further locations in Anjou/ Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles (RDP) at 8000 Henri-Bourassa East and in Dollard-des-Ormeaux at 3980 boul St Jean which also serves the same menu as the original location. In 2016 Boustan opened its fifth location in

Laval, Quebec Laval (; ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is in the southwest of the province, north of Montreal. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third-largest city in the province after Montreal and Quebec City, and the thirteenth largest city in C ...

at 1601 Daniel Johnson corner St Martin. In 2017 Boustan opened locations in Verdun, NDG, Rosemont, Côte-des-Neiges, Kirkland, St-Henri, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, St Leonard and Blainville. In 2019 they opened a location in Vaudreuil-Dorion. It has become a fast growing franchise expecting more new locations. In 2021, Boustan opened their first location outside the Greater Montreal area in Lévis. As of March 2022, a location in Ottawa on Rideau street and in Scarborough Ontario would be the first locations opened outside of Quebec bringing the franchises to a total of 41 locations.

References

External links

{{Commons cat, Boustan Restaurant (Crescent Street)
BOUSTAN - Lebanese Restaurant
1986 establishments in Quebec Downtown Montreal Lebanese-Canadian culture Lebanese restaurants Middle Eastern-Canadian culture in Quebec Restaurants established in 1986 Restaurants in Montreal

History

Boustan chain

See also

References

External links