Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
peterblack@qctonline.com
A popular microbrewery in the Saint-Sauveur district is hopping up to the Upper Town Montcalm district come the spring, taking over the space formerly occupied by the popular restaurant Le Cochon Dingue (now located on Rue Saint-Jean in the Old City).
The owners of Microbrasserie Griendel, faced with various obstacles at its current site at the corner of Rue Saint-Vallier and Rue Des Oblats, sought out another location, and settled on the space on Boul. René-Lévesque near Ave. Cartier.
Martin Parrot, one of Griendel’s co-founders, explained the move from Saint-Sauveur, where the resto-pub has been a neighbourhood fixture for eight years, also involves moving the actual brewing operation to the small town of Saint-Jacques-de-Leeds on the South Shore, where Parrot lives.
The move has been in the works for months, Parrot said. He explained that the restaurant faced the realities of fewer customers in Saint-Sauveur, plus the impact of major roadwork in the coming year. The busy intersection is also not ideal to attract terrasse customers.
The company has bought a building in Saint-Jacques-de-Leeds for the brewery, which will also include a small pub to sample the suds and a modest restaurant menu.
Parrot said the former Cochon Dingue space is ideal for Griendel’s expansion, with its large seating areas and its terrasse which can accommodate 70 customers.
He said the pub plans to continue activities like quiz nights and featured beer specials that made Griendel a popular spot in Saint-Sauveur.
Parrot’s path to ambitious micro-brewer has been an unusual one. After doing a postgraduate degree in humanities at York University in Toronto – specializing in the history and philosophy of witchcraft in England and Scotland – he found himself producing a documentary film about the emergence of the craft brewing business in Quebec.
The film, titled Brasseurs, focused on four microbreweries in the province, including La Souche in Limoilou, and was shown in theatres in Quebec City and Montreal. It can be viewed on YouTube with English subtitles.
During the making of the film, Parrot, who has been a “beer geek” and home brewer for years, said he had already started making plans to open his own microbrewery, which he did in 2015.
“Most of our clientele was in Saint-Sauveur, but I think that a large part of the people will come to see us [in Upper Town] because of the quality of what we were able to offer, both in terms of beer and in terms of dishes, and in terms of activities too,” he said.
Griendel will remain open in Saint-Sauveur while the new location is being prepared. Parrot said Griendel will be leasing the former Cochon Dingue premises with plans to eventually purchase the building with “one of the best terrasses in the city.”
“For us,” Parrot said, “it’s a stepping stone.”
As for the name, Parrot explains, “Griendel is a German name, an ex-monk from the early 18th century. He was a tinkerer and a travelling scientist. We liked the visual of the name, the German reference (casual German beer culture) and the tinkerer bit (we like to try out stuff, both in the brewery and in the kitchen).”
Cochon Dingue, meanwhile, has far from disappeared after leaving Montcalm. There are now six restaurants bearing the catchy name in the Quebec City region, including the newest in Le Concorde Hotel on Grande Allée. The parent company is also making plans to bring the brand to Montreal.
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Griendel co-founder Martin Parrot samples one of the microbrewery’s products at its current location in Saint-Sauveur.
Photo courtesy of Martin Parrot
The former home of the Cochon Dingue restaurant on Boul. René-Lévesque will become the new Griendel microbrewery and restaurant.
Photo by Peter Black