Monkland Avenue businesses allowed to reopen after evacuation

Ye Olde Orchard Pub, the Taverne and other businesses on Monkland Ave. that were suddenly shut down over structural non-compliance issues can now reopen.

Ye Olde Orchard Pub, the Taverne and other businesses on a stretch of Monkland Avenue in Montreal’s Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood that were suddenly shut down over structural non-compliance issues can now reopen.

According to the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough, which ordered the evacuation of both commercial and residential tenants on Thursday, a more detailed engineering report received Friday morning and analyzed by the Montreal fire department found the commercial portion of the building safe for the return of tenants on the lower level.

“However, the condition of the current structure of the upper floors of the building does not allow for the reintegration of tenants in that part of the building,” the borough said.

The owners of the building, Elfaco Management — which acquired the property in May 2025 — said in a statement that the residential and commercial components of the building were built on different foundations.

“With respect to the commercial portion of the building, no danger was ever identified. While the city temporarily closed this section out of an abundance of caution, engineering assessments confirmed that it posed no risk,” Gabriel Bouganim with Elfaco Management said.

Joe Pilotte, the vice-president of operations at Ye Olde Orchard, had previously said the business was informed Thursday morning that the Montreal fire department would be evacuating the building.

He added that at the time, they had not yet heard from the landlords.

“It’s all either been city or fire department, and we know that it has been barricaded, and we’re no longer allowed in the building until it’s fixed. Is that a day? Is that a week? Is that a month? We don’t know,” he said.

Tenants CTV Montreal spoke to said they were told Wednesday night they would have to vacate the building the following day.

They also said that last week they received an engineering report, dated November 2025, which stated the building’s structure presented “high severity concerns” and recommended the building be completely vacated so structural rehabilitation could proceed.

The Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough told CTV News it issued a “preventative evacuation” to ensure public safety within 48 hours of receiving a complaint from a tenant a few days earlier.

When asked why it waited almost two months to advise tenants and alert the city, Elfaco Management said it had shared the report “proactively” and remained in continuous communication with engineers.

“Based on their professional guidance at the time, the issue was not considered urgent and could be addressed in the spring. Out of caution, we nonetheless re-engaged the engineers immediately after the holidays.”

Elfaco Management added that the city has taken the lead on emergency accommodations. “We are cooperating fully and supporting tenants through the process.”