Quite da fright
Chris Paré
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photo: Joseph Yarmush
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Several tenants were forced from their homes early last Saturday night following a fire that started in the basement of Café Olympico, considered by many to be the heart of Montreal's Mile End community.True-school coffee lovers would be hard pressed to find a place that pulled a better espresso than Olympico, better known as Open Da Night (a truncated version of "Open Day and Night"). Generations of loyal patrons have sipped and smoked on the corner of Waverly and St-Viateur. Plywood slabs now cover the windows, concealing unsaid damage inside.
Residents living close by say fire trucks arrived on the scene the evening of January 8 at around 7:45 p.m. The smell of smoke could be detected for several blocks in all directions as the gathering crowd looked on in disbelief.
Friends helped those who once lived upstairs move what remained of their possessions. Smoke and water damage left little to salvage, but the victims are just grateful that no one was hurt. "If it had happened at night, people could have been killed," said one witness.
Olympico is known and loved worldwide. Word of the fire spread quickly in Mile End and on food-related websites like egullet.org, where forum users sounded off on the tragic news. One post reads: "Bad news for Montreal latte lovers: Café Olympico... suffered extensive damage in a fire last night. No one was hurt, fortunately." Response: "The good news is the owners say they plan to rebuild and reopen soon. Wonder if they'll keep/recreate the 'Open Da Night'
sign."Among the surviving artifacts is the café's holiday crèche, a nativity scene that sits next to the building in a festive shed.
"It was and still is the best coffee on the block," says Will Eizlini, who lives on the corner of Esplanade and St-Viateur. "If you wanted a coffee in the morning and you arrived at 9 a.m. instead of 7:30 a.m., you'd basically be hanging out near the bathrooms because the lineup is so long." Olympico staff members say they hope to be serving their famous brew again soon, possibly by February.
| Open Da Night goes up in smoke |
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In a city strewn with Second Cups, Starbucks, Java Us and the rest of their ilk this was one of the few places that actually consistently served up the goods with promptness and style--the loss is deeply felt by anyone who's ever been a patron of the place.
God willing, they'll re-open as good as they once were.
Better yet, better than they once were.
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Pedro Eggers
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{5 votes}
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Open Da night has moved across the street (to the southwest corner) of Waverly and St-Viateur. It seems as though the fleurist has moved over temporarily to give us a spot to drink our coffee
I think that it's fantastic that the owners decided to provide this quick fix for their patrons.
To a speedy recovery!
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Marguerite Ryan
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{26 votes}
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it is a pity that a thing like this would happen specially to a place like "da night".
a lot of people get their morning blasts from these place to start their hectic schedules
for the day or just to start the day in a positive mood at least. here's hoping for this coffee
oasis to open soon.
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Lisa Silvestre
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{24 votes}
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It's interesting that as the world appears destined for hell in a hand basket that a glimmer of hope remains in the burnt out ruins of Cafe Olypico -a holiday creche survived. The emminent resurrection of the famous cafe could conceivably be Montreal's not-so-little miracle. Best wishes for staff and patrons.
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Heather Lee
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{28 votes}
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| I hope open DA night returns quickly |
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My thoughts are with the fire victims and to the owners of an institution in the Montreal area.
Here's hoping that the resurrection of this quaint but fine establishment will be quick and efficient. I had no idea that so many people were affected by this tragedy and that the weather can stay warm over the next few months so that contractors can get the internal reconstruction started and residents given at least a date to move in once the insurance claims are able to be settled.
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Steve Landry
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{30 votes}
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