Chenoy's (french: Chenoys) is a Jewish delicatessen and

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

that first opened in Montreal, Quebec, in 1936. Its original claim to fame was offering the Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich. Chenoy's first opened in the old Jewish neighbourhood on the Main, close to Rue Marie-Anne. The oldest remaining Chenoy's deli is in Dollard-des-Ormeaux opened in 1974 by Morty Chenoy and brothers Nick and Costa Sigounis.

History

Like other great Montreal delis ( Schwartz's,

Dunn's Dunn's Famous Deli and Steakhouse is a chain of Jewish delis serving Montreal-style smoked meat, pastrami and cheesecake founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Myer Dunn. History Dunn, who immigrated to Canada in 1911, opened his first restauran ...

), Chenoy's first opened in the old Jewish neighbourhood on the Main (

Saint Laurent Boulevard Saint Laurent Boulevard, also known as Saint Lawrence Boulevard (officially in french: boulevard Saint-Laurent), is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A commercial artery and cultural heritage site, the street runs north–south through ...

), close to Rue Marie-Anne. As times changed, the deli would move and be franchised. From Chenoy's history:

"...in 1936 we lost the key... The original (4) "Chenoy Boys" had been doing Deli right since 1936. Our story starts in a small local of St.Laurent Boulevard... now over 75 years later we're still turning out our Famous Smoked-Meat from all areas of the city! Their specialty was Smoked-Meat, but the new owners haven’t stopped at that!... from bacon & eggs, to filet mignon.... Chenoys is the place to grab a bite for whatever you might like. The only problem is in 1936 we lost the key... so we’ve been working 25 Hrs a day, 365 days a year ever since to serve you! The illustration on the cover depicts the original location of Deli Chenoys in 1936, then located on St. Laurent Boulevard, near Marianne Street. From its humble origins to modern times, our success has gone through several decades and generations, but one thing has remained the same...."

Chenoy's would later franchise delis, in Lasalle, Quebec, at 7660 Newman Boulevad; in Brossard, on

Taschereau Boulevard Taschereau Boulevard is a major suburban boulevard located on the south shore of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is a section of Quebec Route 134 and runs from Longueuil to Candiac (junction of Autoroute 15). It is named after the prominent Quebec ...

; and in Chomedey, in

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

, on Boulevard Curé-Labelle, have closed since 2017. The last family member to be an owner was the late Mortimer (Morty) Chenoy. A Chenoy's franchise opened in

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

in 1997 on Boulevard de l'Hôpital, in Complexe Lumière (aka "Cinema 9"). It was closed in 2019 and rebranded as part of the ''Nickels'' deli chain.

Restaurants

The oldest remaining Chenoy's deli is in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, on Boulevard Saint-Jean, which opened in 1974 by Morty Chenoy and brothers Nick and Costa Sigounis. Morty sold his half of the business back to the Sigounis family in the mid-1980s. Not long afterward, he was diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. Morty passed away on January 22,1999. In 2015 the restaurant building was put up or sale, but the Sigounis family has stated that it plans to keep the landmark deli in the

West Island The West Island () is the unofficial name given to the cities, towns and boroughs at the western end of the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. It is generally considered to consist of the Lakeshore municipalities of Dorval, Pointe-Cla ...

.West Island’s Chenoy’s Deli is on the move, Sarah Volstad, Global News, March 19, 2015
/ref> As of 2020, it is the only Chenoys remaining in operation. The building in Chomedey on

Quebec Route 117 Route 117, the Trans Canada Highway Northern Route, is a provincial highway within the Canadian province of Quebec, running between Montreal and the Quebec/Ontario border where it continues as Highway 66 east of McGarry, Ontario. It is an impor ...

no longer exists.

References

{{reflist, 30em 1936 establishments in Quebec Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Montreal Jewish delicatessens in Canada Jews and Judaism in Montreal Montreal cuisine Restaurant chains in Canada Restaurants established in 1936 Restaurants in Montreal

History

Restaurants

See also

References