Type | Restaurant franchise |
---|---|
Industry | Food service |
Founded | 1927Avenue Papineau near Avenue du Mont-Royal | on
Founder | Myer Dunn |
Headquarters | 1249, rue Metcalfe Montreal, Quebec H3B 2V5 |
Number of locations | 6 (2019) [1] |
Area served | Quebec, Ontario |
Products | Food and drink (Montreal-style smoked meat, pastrami and cheesecake) |
Website | dunnsfamous.com |
Dunn's Famous Deli and Steakhouse is a chain of Jewish delis serving Montreal-style smoked meat, pastrami and cheesecake founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by Myer Dunn. [2] The chain currently has locations in Montreal, and one in Ottawa.
Dunn, who immigrated to Canada in 1911, opened his first restaurant in 1927 on Avenue Papineau near Avenue du Mont-Royal. [3] In 1948 he opened his first restaurant to be called "Dunn's Famous Delicatessen" at the corner of Avenue du Parc and Avenue du Mont-Royal. [3]
In 1955 he opened his flagship restaurant at 892 Saint Catherine Street West. [3] The storefront windows were famous for the top-to-bottom stacks of large jars full of hot banana peppers. [4] The deli was open 24 hours a day, unusual for restaurant in the downtown core. Beginning in the 1970s Dunn's Famous began to focus more on Montreal-style smoked meat, eventually stopping its promotion of Pastrami. [5] [6]
The iconic Saint Catherine Street deli closed in 1998, though Dunn's grandson re-opened the establishment in 2000 at a larger space nearby on Metcalfe Street. This move was controversial, as it turned off many loyal customers who preferred the nostalgia of the old location despite the overcrowding. Other longtime deli competitors, Schwartz's and Main Deli, quashed relocation and franchising plans due to the potential backlash of diluting their iconic brands. [4]
Ina Devine, daughter of Aideh Dunn, had franchised the restaurant outside Quebec, with several locations in Ontario and one in British Columbia, however, today, only one remains (Dalhousie Street in the Byward Market area of Ottawa). The smoked meat is not prepared in-house at these locations, but it is instead shipped frozen from Montreal and then warmed out before serving.
Elliot Kligman currently has five franchises in Quebec and also offers Dunn's brand products to retail sellers. [7]
When the controversial Charter of the French Language (Bill 101) became law in 1977, the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) took action against Dunn's and other stores retailing imported kosher goods that did not meet its labelling requirements, an action perceived in the Jewish community as an unfair targeting and antisemitism. This coincided with a high-profile case brought by the OQLF against Dunn's due to the apostrophe in the establishment's sign, which remains. [8] [9]
Dunn's also got in trouble with the OQLF for having the English word, "Smoked Meat" on the sign out front. Dunn's, along with other well-known delicatessen establishments, also fought a ruling to change the name of "Smoked Meat" to "Boeuf Mariné" in order to conform to Quebec Language Law. [10] They won the ruling by appeal by proving that if they didn't advertise "Smoked Meat" they would confuse and anger customers. [11] A good example of this was Parti Québécois MNA Gérald Godin who himself ordered the sandwich by its English name. [12] Due to the work of Myer Dunn, under the new ruling, enacted in 1987, Smoked meat became a word in both Official languages of Canada. [13]
The Office québécois de la langue française is a Quebec public provincial organization established on 24 March 1961, by the Liberal government of Jean Lesage. Attached to the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications(Ministry of Culture and Communications), its initial mission, defined in its report of 1 April 1964, was "to align on international French, promote good Canadianisms and fight Anglicisms ... work on the normalization of the language in Quebec and support State intervention to carry out a global language policy that would consider notably the importance of socio-economic motivations in making French the priority language in Quebec".
The Charter of the French Language, also known in English as Bill 101, Law 101, or Quebec French Preference Law, is a law in the province of Quebec in Canada defining French, the language of the majority of the population, as the official language of the provincial government. It is the central legislative piece in Quebec's language policy, and one of the three statutory documents Quebec society bases its cohesion upon, along with the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and the Civil Code of Quebec. The Charter also protects the Indigenous languages of Quebec.
Traditionally, a delicatessen or deli is a retail establishment that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessens originated in Germany during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the mid-19th century. European immigrants to the United States, especially Ashkenazi Jews, popularized the delicatessen in U.S. culture beginning in the late 19th century. Today, many large retail stores like supermarkets have deli sections.
Pastrami is a food originating from Romania usually made from beef brisket. Later recipes use lamb, pork, chicken or turkey. The raw meat is brined, partially dried, seasoned with herbs and spices, then smoked and steamed. Like corned beef, pastrami was originally created as a way to preserve meat before the invention of refrigeration. One of the iconic meats of Eastern European cuisine as well as American Jewish cuisine and New York City cuisine, hot pastrami is typically served at delicatessen restaurants on sandwiches such as the pastrami on rye.
Katz's Delicatessen, also known as Katz's of New York City, is a kosher-style delicatessen at 205 East Houston Street, on the southwest corner of Houston and Ludlow Streets on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City.
Schwartz's, also known as the Schwartz's Deli and the Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen, is a Jewish delicatessen restaurant and take-out, located on Saint-Laurent Boulevard in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was established in 1928, by Reuben Schwartz, a Jewish immigrant from Romania. Its long popularity and reputation has led to it being considered a cultural institution and landmark in Montreal.
Le Plateau-Mont-Royal is a borough (arrondissement) of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Shopsy's is a Jewish delicatessen restaurant chain in the Greater Toronto Area and a brand name owned by Maple Leaf Foods for a line of meat products.
The Carnegie Deli is a small Jewish delicatessen, formerly a chain, based in New York City. Its main branch, opened in 1937 near Carnegie Hall, was located at 854 7th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. It closed on December 31, 2016. There is one branch still in operation at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, and the deli still operates a wholesale distribution service.
Bens De Luxe Delicatessen and Restaurant was a renowned Jewish delicatessen in Montreal, Canada. The restaurant was famed for its Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich. During its heyday it was a popular late-night dining fixture in the downtown core and a favourite eatery of many celebrities. It was open for nearly a century, from 1908 to 2006. At 98 years it was the oldest deli in the city.
Milton Parker was a co-owner of the Carnegie Deli, located at 55th Street and Seventh Avenue next to Carnegie Hall in the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the behind-the-scenes preparer of towering pastrami sandwiches while his partner Leo Steiner was the tummler who entertained celebrities, locals and tourists.
Montreal-style smoked meat, Montreal smoked meat or simply smoked meat in Quebec is a type of kosher-style deli meat product made by salting and curing beef brisket with spices. The brisket is allowed to absorb the flavours over a week. It is then hot smoked to cook through, and finally is steamed to completion. This is a variation on corned beef and is similar to pastrami.
Montreal steak seasoning, also known as Montreal steak spice, Canadian steak seasoning, or Canadian steak spice, is a spice mix used to flavour steak and grilled meats. It is based on the dry-rub mix used in preparing Montreal smoked meat, which comes from the Romanian pastramă, introduced to Montreal by Romanian Jewish immigrants.
The Main Deli Steak House, also known simply as Main Deli or The Main, was a delicatessen and steakhouse located on Saint Laurent Boulevard in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Caplansky's Delicatessen is a delicatessen in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It originated in 2007 in a room in the Monarch Tavern on Clinton Street which Zane Caplansky rented as a venue to make and sell house-cured hand-cut smoked meat sandwiches and knishes. The venture was successful and in 2009, Caplansky opened his eponymous full service delicatessen located at 356 College Street near Kensington Market. Caplansky's opened a food truck, named "Thunderin' Thelma", in 2011, which travelled to various events and locations in the city to sell food on the street.
Pastrami on rye is a sandwich that was popularized in the Jewish kosher delicatessens of New York City. It was first created in 1888 by Sussman Volk, who served it at his deli on Delancey Street in New York City.
Chenoy's is a Jewish delicatessen and restaurant that first opened in Montreal, Quebec, in 1936. Its original claim to fame was offering the Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich. Chenoy's first opened in the old Jewish neighbourhood on the Main, close to Rue Marie-Anne. The oldest remaining Chenoy's deli is in Dollard-des-Ormeaux opened in 1974 by Morty Chenoy and brothers Nick and Costa Sigounis.