The Corner Snack Bar - better known to generations of Montrealers as Moe's - is set to close its doors in a little more than a week.
A Montreal institution, the restaurant tucked away down the stairs at the corner of Lambert-Closse St. and de Maisonneuve Blvd. might be better known as Moe's, even though the original owner left the building almost 40 years ago.
Eddy Thomas's family bought the Corner Snack Bar and kept the name.
“We've been at it for 37 years now,” said Thomas.
That’s 37 years of eggs, 37 years of bacon and 37 years of long, long hours.
“This place is such a commitment. I mean, I do my 10, 12, 14-hour shifts and then even when I'm not here, I'm basically on-call,” he added.
Thomas tried selling the 24-hour, seven-day a week institution last spring but so far, he hasn't found a buyer.
So, things are coming to an end.
“It will be December 7th. It's a Monday, at 6 a.m.,” he said.
Customer favourites like the Grand Slam breakfast will no longer be served.
For some it was a family tradition that started when they were children.
“I'm pretty sad, to be honest,” said customer Nathalie des Rosiers. “Moe's is like an institution in Montreal so it closing is pretty sucky.”
A combination of factors was just too much for the business, said Thomas.
“They put up the bike path and then took the parking on Lambert Closse away,” said Thomas.
The biggest blow was the loss of the Forum and its crowds.
The counter stools aren't as full as they used to be and the tables not as occupied.
So, it's time for something new.
“I haven't had a weekend off in 37 years. People come in here and go, 'Have a nice weekend.' and I'm like in the back of my mind, ‘Yeah, okay. My weekend is in between the grill and the fryer,’” said Thomas.
Thomas doesn't know what he'll do next, but knows exactly what he won't do.
“A lot of people assume I'm going to go out and open another diner. I'm like, no way,” he said.
