Five Montreal-area Brasserie T! restaurants have closed and the famed Toqué eatery is getting set to open as their owners grapple with financial losses.

In December, Normand Laprise and partner Christine Lamarche closed the Brasserie T! locations in the Mile-End/Parc-Extension district, in Sainte-Thérèse, Que., and in Brossard, Que., as well as the Comptoir-Epicerie grocery outlet on Avenue Beaumont, and Burger T! situated at the Time Out Market, in Montreal.

Toqué will open Wednesday after being closed during the holiday break.

Brasserie T! worked well and its customer base was good, said Laprise in a news release. However, the chain’s expansion, launched in 2019, coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. The expansion included a new production kitchen and the opening of five Brasserie T! restaurants.

“The operating costs of our production kitchen, located in Beaumont, were too high to supply only three branches. So our operations were loss-making,” said Laprise.

Increased raw materials, construction and wage costs compounded the difficulties, the owners said in the news release.

Laprise and Lamarche are selling the Brasserie T!, Comptoir-Epicerie and production kitchen. 

Photo: Brasserie T