After more than five decades of serving steaks and sides in Saint Sauveur, the original Gibbys restaurant is closing.
The restaurant posted on its Facebook page that last call will be March 30.
“We invite you to take advantage of these last few weeks to enjoy your favorite dishes in the warm and welcoming atmosphere that has made us so well-known,” the restaurant said.
Brothers Gibby (Gilbert) and Allan Rosenberg opened the restaurant in 1969 after asking their friend Donald Herscovitch (Hersh), who was in the restaurant business, what he thought of a particular piece of property.
They purchased the former four-bedroom cottage on Principale Street in the Laurentians that was being used as a season creperie.
Two years later, they opened the Old Montreal location, and Hersh and Gibby eventually opened a location in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Gilbert died in 2018.
Grandio Groupe bought Gibbys two years ago. The investment group also owns Moishes, La Cage aux Sports, Brasseurs du Monde microbrewery, and other cafes, bars and restaurants.
Former Montreal Gazette food critic Lesley Chesterman said that for a long time, the Saint-Sauveur Gibbys had a warm family atmosphere but inflation changed that.
“For a family to go out to a steakhouse, instead of maybe a pizza place, steak is a lot more expensive than pizza or hamburgers and french fries,” she said. “You’re looking at steaks now, they’re kind of $60 and up, so if you’re a family of four and you’re going to have soft drinks and desserts and everything, you could be looking at $100 plus per person. How many people can afford, a family of four, $400 for a really nice steak dinner.”
Gibbys in Old Montreal will remain open.
