Downtown Montreal restaurant stressed at massive construction project

Another restaurant in Montreal says it's suffering because of construction and that getting inside is like going through a maze.

Dominion Bar opened in October and within a few months is worried about what the future will bring.

"So this here is the area where we can leave our garbage cans. The delivery drivers can't even park over here," said general manager Paul Nakis. "They have to park on the north side of St Catherine Street and then carry their buggies all the way to the back of the bar, which is behind the fences."

The city warned the establishment on Metcalfe Street in Montreal that work would be done, but staff were shocked to see how extensive the work became.

"Now we're barricaded in," said Nakis. "You have to park on neighbouring streets, and then you have to walk around the maze of fences that the city has built."

The City of Montreal's website says the work is to repair centuries-old pipes and told CTV News that the facade on Metcalfe was at risk of crumbling so more barriers were erected.

Bar owner Pablo Rojas said he never heard that explanation and was left to wonder why, all of a sudden, there were more gates and a closed alleyway.

"They did answer my call every time I was calling. They just had no answer or no solution for me," he said. "So it's pretty much the same thing as not taking the call at this point."

Rojas doesn't want a repeat of what happened in the Plateau where businesses had to deal with months of construction and some of them closed.

"Obviously, there's a lot of frustration," he said. "We're trying to be as reasonable as we can, but we are our main goal is to operate and to run our business."

As it stands, deliveries need to come down the alley and customers need to navigate orange cones.

"Obviously, most reservations come in late," said Nakis. "People are apologetic. People understand that. It's a tricky situation for us."