Dunn's Famous Deli and Steakhouse is a chain of
Jewish delis serving
Montreal-style smoked meat,
pastrami and
cheesecake founded in
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, Canada, by Myer Dunn. The chain currently has locations in Montreal, and one in
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
.
History
Dunn, who immigrated to Canada in 1911, opened his first restaurant in 1927 on
Avenue Papineau near
Avenue du Mont-Royal.
In 1948 he opened his first restaurant to be called "Dunn's Famous Delicatessen" at the corner of
Avenue du Parc and Avenue du Mont-Royal.
In 1955 he opened his flagship restaurant at 892
Saint Catherine Street West.
The storefront windows were famous for the top-to-bottom stacks of large jars full of hot banana peppers.
[Downtown Montreal - Phillips Square](_blank)
/ref> The deli was open 24 hours a day, unusual for restaurant in the downtown core
The Downtown Core is the historical and downtown centre of the city-state of Singapore and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with two integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive buil ...
. Beginning in the 1970s Dunn's Famous began to focus more on Montreal-style smoked meat, eventually stopping its promotion of Pastrami.
The iconic Saint Catherine Street deli closed in 1998, though Dunn's grandson re-opened the establishment in 2000 at a larger space nearby on Metcalfe Street. This move was controversial, as it turned off many loyal customers who preferred the nostalgia of the old location despite the overcrowding. Other longtime deli competitors, Schwartz's and Main Deli, quashed relocation and franchising plans due to the potential backlash of diluting their iconic brands.
Franchising
Ina Devine, daughter of Aideh Dunn, had franchised the restaurant outside Quebec, with several locations in Ontario and one in British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, however, today, none remain open. The smoked meat is not prepared in-house at these locations, but it is instead shipped frozen from Montreal and then warmed out before servin
Elliot Kligman currently has five franchises in Quebec and also offers Dunn's brand products to retail sellers.
Quebec language dispute
When the controversial Charter of the French Language (Bill 101) became law in 1977, the ''Office québécois de la langue française
The (, OQLF; ) is an agency of the Quebec provincial government charged with ensuring legislative requirements with respect to the right to use French are respected.
Established on 24 March 1961 by the Liberal government of Jean Lesage, the ...
'' (OQLF) took action against Dunn's and other stores retailing imported kosher goods that did not meet its labelling requirements, an action perceived in the Jewish community as an unfair targeting and antisemitism
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
. This coincided with a high-profile case brought by the OQLF against Dunn's due to the apostrophe in the establishment's sign, which remains.
Dunn's also got in trouble with the OQLF for having the English word, "Smoked Meat" on the sign out front. Dunn's, along with other well-known delicatessen establishments, also fought a ruling to change the name of "Smoked Meat" to "Boeuf Mariné" in order to conform to Quebec Language Law. They won the ruling by appeal by proving that if they didn't advertise "Smoked Meat" they would confuse and anger customers. A good example of this was Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (PQ; , ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishi ...
MNA Gérald Godin who himself ordered the sandwich by its English name. Due to the work of Myer Dunn, under the new ruling, enacted in 1987, Smoked meat
Smoked meat is the result of a method of preparing red meat, white meat, and seafood which originated in the Paleolithic, Paleolithic Era. Smoking adds Flavor (taste), flavor, improves the appearance of meat through the Maillard reaction, and ...
became a word in both Official languages of Canada.
See also
* List of Jewish delis
* List of Canadian restaurant chains
Although many of the largest restaurant chains in Canada are United States, US-based (McDonald's and Yum! Brands among others), some Canadian-based (owned and operated from Canada) restaurant chains are growing and have expanded into other marke ...
References
External links
*
{{Restaurants in Montreal
1927 establishments in Quebec
Companies based in Montreal
Jewish delicatessens in Canada
Jews and Judaism in Montreal
Restaurant chains in Canada
Restaurants established in 1927
Restaurants in Montreal
Ashkenazi Jewish restaurants