With too little space for physical distancing, Bar-B Barn closes downtown location

When Bar-B Barn owner Thomas McQueen shut down his restaurant on Guy Street on March 19, he thought it would be just for a few weeks.

Quebec had ordered all restaurants to close their dining rooms as COVID-19 spread through the province. On Monday, a week before he would have been allowed to reopen, McQueen made the difficult decision to close his downtown restaurant — after 53 years, a Montreal institution.

The dining area of the restaurant, which is in an old, narrow building, could not be reconfigured to operate under the new public health guidelines, he said.

"The worst day of my life," McQueen called the day that he made the decision. As he called staff, many of whom worked there for decades, to let them know they would not be coming back, there were "lots of tears," he said.

"They were like mothers that were serving you at the table," said McQueen, who has worked at the restaurant for 40 years, since he was 15 years old.

Manny Barnoff, who opened the downtown Bar-B Barn location in 1967, took McQueen under his wing when McQueen was just nine. Barnoff was like a father to him, said McQueen, who eventually took over the restaurant.

The two remained close until Barnoff's death last December at the age of 90.

Old, narrow building

McQueen says the closure of the downtown location is "100 per cent" related to COVID-19. 

Quebec's workplace health and safety board guidelines require that tables be two metres apart.

McQueen says that reopening under those conditions just wasn't financially viable. One of the restaurant's dining rooms normally seats 36 — but to make enough room between tables, it would only have seated 16. 

"And that's if it's four tables of four. If it's four tables of two, then I have eight people in a room that can seat 36," said McQueen.

While the restaurant's second location in Dollard-des-Ormeaux continued to offer takeout service during the pandemic, McQueen said that the downtown building's narrow entryway and the placement of the takeout counter made it impossible to offer the same service there.

With its distinctive sign and yellow-and-brown colour scheme, the restaurant on Guy Street has always stood out.

Many people have fond memories of meals eaten and time spent there over the last half-century, and McQueen says he has been getting calls from regulars dismayed by the news. 

He said the restaurant was a popular spot for a meal before catching a hockey game or a show at the old Montreal Forum.

"I know so many couples that met here … and now they're married with kids," he said.

Steve Frischman, a regular at the restaurant for decades, says he'll fondly remember the restaurant's campy esthetic — and of course the ribs, too.

"Those ribs sort of became my version of home-cooking," he said.

"That first bite — it always takes you back to being a kid again."

McQueen says he is in talks with a real-estate company to sell the building, and he's holding out hope that Bar-B Barn be able to reopen somewhere nearby. 

The Dollard-des-Ormeaux will remain open, with dining room service to resume June 29.