After The Main, another iconic Montreal eatery, Quebec Smoked Meat in Pointe-St-Charles, to close

Quebec Smoked Meat, a family business in Pointe-Saint-Charles that has sold wholesale and takeout "old-fashioned" smoked meat for decades, is closing down. 

Richard Nower, whose father started the business in 1950, said he is closing at the end of June, selling the building located on Centre Street and taking a much-needed retirement. 

"We're closing down because we're missing the workers. Prices of things have gone up drastically and not only that, I got arthritis in my knees and my elbow," he said. 

"I've been here over 46 years and it's taking a toll on my body. So time to let things go."

The announcement came three days after another Montreal smoked meat institution, The Main Deli, abruptly shut down.

Nower blames the need to close on several factors: staffing shortages, rising food prices and the challenge of running a small business —  many of the same reasons that led to The Main's closure, according to other restaurateurs and smoked meat aficionados. 

The shutdown also leaves one fewer spot for Montrealers to get authentic, in-house smoked meat.

"All our products are real old-fashioned because we use real meat," Nower said. "Companies today, it's all fast, fast-produced. That's the thing, it's not the same as the small guy."

Fergus Keyes, the head of the Montreal Irish Park Foundation and a long-time Pointe-Saint-Charles resident, said he and a group of friends used to spend time at The Main, eating smoked meat and listening to Leonard Cohen songs to honour the poet who used to be a regular there. 

But when it closed, he said the group turned to Plan B: buying smoked meat from Quebec Smoked Meat and picnicking in a park. That was until he learned that it, too, would be closing. 

"It's kind of a sad state of affairs for us. Now we're going to have to figure out Plan C," he said. "I guess we're going to have to find somebody somewhere else with smoked meat."

It probably won't be as good, though, Keyes said. Quebec Smoked Meat was "right up there, one of the best in the city." 

Quebec Smoked Meat served the Pointe-Saint-Charles community as the neighbourhood, once known for its factories, changed over 70 years. Noyer recalled how workers from the massive Northern Electric Company, or Canadian Pacific, used to come and buy smoked meat during their lunch hours.

In those days, Nower said prices were low. Factory workers could load up on goods for just a few dollars.

"Everything was cheap and your money went a long way," he said. "Today it's the opposite."

Now, he laments rising beef prices and the difficulty in finding skilled labour. Some of Nower's employees have worked for him for decades and are reaching retirement age themselves. 

Long days processing meat in a cold storage room have also taken its toll on Nower. He looks forward to spending time with his children, none of whom wanted to take over the family business.

"It's hard. It's not an easy desk job, you're in the cold, you're in the Frigidaires, you're in the heat. My dad had the same issue. I think at 62 or 63, he had to retire too because he was in severe pain."

Keyes said it has been difficult to learn of the loss of two legendary smoked meat joints in the span of one week. 

"I just hope that there aren't too many more closures of these types of places that have been around so long," he said. "They really do contribute to the culture of the city. They're kind of special."