Boustan is a Lebanese-

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 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 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 one of the thirtee ...

. 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; Walter ...

word for

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of ...

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

École Polytechnique de Montréal École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scal ...

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 Crescent Street (officially in french: rue Crescent) is a southbound street in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Running perpendicular to Saint Catherine Street, Crescent Street descends from Sherbrooke Street south to René Lévesque Boulevard. ...

in downtown Montreal. 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 su ...

Pierre Trudeau and the now current

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

. 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

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Canad ...

. 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 Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France * County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duk ...

Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles is a suburban borough (''arrondissement'') on the eastern tip of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at the eastern end of the Island of Montreal. Geography The borough is located at ...

(RDP) at 8000 Henri-Bourassa East and in

Dollard-des-Ormeaux Dollard-des-Ormeaux (; commonly referred to as D.D.O. or simply Dollard) is a predominantly English-speaking suburb of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the Island of Montreal. The town was named after French martyr Adam ...

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