Peel Pub closes suddenly after 60 years, staff and performers say they’ve been left in the dark

After more than 60 years, Peel Pub in downtown Montreal has suddenly shut its doors.

On June 20, a bankruptcy notice went up on the locked front door, and clients and staff say they were caught off guard by the news.

Erik Intrevado says he has two sisters who worked at the downtown mainstay for more than a decade and were notified by text of the closure.

Intrevado says he produced the weekly comedy night at the pub and had no idea an insolvency notice would be posted.

“Coming in without the permission of the trustee is guilty of an offence and, basically, breaking and entering,” says Intrevado, reading the notice on the locked front door of the pub.

When he heard about the closure, he says he came to collect his gear, but was out of luck.

“Maybe a few hundred dollars of gear, a microphone, speakers, some cables, power bar,” he listed.

Intrevado says comedy night was doing well, but believes Peel Pub was on the decline.

Raby, who didn’t want his family name used, says he has friends who worked at the pub.

He came by to take a photo of the notice on the door.

Raby points out a terrace wasn’t installed this summer season — a sign, he says, that staff took as a sign the end was near.

“They don’t get paid on time. He refused to pay them as well for their hours, and who clocked in for the Grand Prix weekend. So, there’s a lot of people who still have money, tips stuck in here. Completely dead silence from the owner. Just kind of disappointing,” said Raby.

Ongoing construction has affected summer business, according to Dave Laanemets of McLean’s Pub next door.

“Having the street closed at the intersection has been really bad for business,” he said. “It hurts us. If no one’s going up and down the street, no one’s walking up or down the street. And it’s not good. If the street was closed for a festival, that’s a different story — then people have a reason to be here.”

CTV News contacted Peel Pub owner Sami Jmaiel several times but did not get a response.

Meanwhile, Intrevado says he’s looking for a new venue to host comedy night.

Others, like his sisters, are looking for backpay and a new job.

“I think that’s where the real problem is, is what is going to be the process for everyone who’s affected by this,” he said.