Montreal-based chocolate chain Cacao 70 has shuttered its open-to-the-public factory in Pointe-St-Charles’ Nordelec building.
The large, airy space has been taken over by a new location for Village lunch and brunch spot Le Passé Composé (the first expansion for that exceedingly popular restaurant on de Maisonneuve).
It’s unclear why Cacao 70 closed down what was effectively its flagship location (Eater has reached out for comment, but has not heard back). The company opened in the 8,000 square foot space in 2017 to produce chocolate bars and other products for the company, but also opened it as a large, café-like operation to showcase Cacao 70’s products, complete with a promising chocolatier at its helm.
The closure doesn’t seem indicative of broader issues with the company — despite being in business for just nine years, it already has locations across the country, from Halifax to Victoria, and there haven’t been other substantially notable closures.
The company’s offices are reportedly still in the Nordelec building — it’s quite possible that the fairly large space just wasn’t that commercially viable, and didn’t fill up enough to justify its space. Plus, office workers and condo-dwellers in the area may not be visiting a large chocolate shop on a regular basis the same way they might a coffee shop — generally speaking, Cacao 70’s locations are mostly focused on higher-traffic areas like downtown, Mont-Royal Avenue, or malls, with a greater pool of people to draw in.
Other businesses that have set up shop in there (or are planning to) are fairly service-oriented spots — for example, a small counter for coffee shop September Surf, or a forthcoming take-out location for taqueria Grumman78.
In any case, the space is already open for business as Le Passé Composé — the restaurant’s menu is geared a little more towards lunch than the brunch at its original Village location (it’s also closed weekends, peak brunch hours). On the menu are hearty salads, sandwiches, and fancy grilled cheeses all have prominent spots on the menu, alongside just a couple of brunch options like “French toast fries” and a lox bagel.
STATUS — Le Passé Composé is open at 1751 Richardson, suite T10 (in the Nordelec building) from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday.
