Boustan

For other uses, see Bostan (disambiguation).

Restaurant in Quebec, Canada

Boustan

Restaurant Boustan's original location at Crescent Street at De Maisonneuve Boulevard

Location within Montreal

Restaurant information
Established| 1986
Owner(s)| Emad Saad
Food type| Lebanese
Street address| 2020A Crescent Street, 19 Sainte Catherine Street East, 8000 Henri Bourassa Boulevard East, 1601 Daniel Johnson Boulevard, 3980 Saint Jean Boulevard
City| Montreal
State| Quebec
Postal/ZIP Code| H3G 2B8
Country| Canada
Coordinates| 45°29′54″N 73°34′40″W﻿ / ﻿45.498205°N 73.577825°W﻿ / 45.498205; -73.577825
Website| boustan.ca

Boustan is a Lebanese-Canadian fast food restaurant chain in Montreal, Quebec. It was established in 1986.

Boustan is the Arabic word for orchard.[1]

## History[edit]

Imad Smaidi became the full-time owner of the restaurant, after being a silent partner.[1] Smaidi immigrated to Canada from Lebanon in 1972,[1] studied engineering at École Polytechnique de Montréal and worked for Philips before having to quit to run Boustan full-time.[1]

The restaurant moved several times before settling in its current location, 2020A Crescent Street in downtown Montreal.[1]

Boustan has been frequented by, among others, former Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau and the now current Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau.[1] and some of the rosters from the Montreal Canadiens and Montreal Alouettes.[2]

Smaidi, due to his popularly, was called "Mr. Boustan" instead of his real name. Smaidi put the restaurant up for sale in early 2011.[2][1][3] He eventually sold the restaurant to George and Peter Hatzimargaritis and Mario Daigneault on March 25, 2012 for an undisclosed sum.[2]

## Boustan chain[edit]

In 2014 Boustan opened a second location at 19 Ste Catherine East which serves the same menu as the original location.[4]

In 2015 Boustan opened further locations in Anjou/Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles (RDP) at 8000 Henri-Bourassa East and in Dollard-des-Ormeaux at 3980 boul St Jean which also serves the same menu as the original location.[4]

In 2016 Boustan opened its fifth location in Laval, Quebec at 1601 Daniel Johnson corner St Martin.[5]

In 2017 Boustan opened locations in Verdun, NDG, Rosemont, Côte-des-Neiges, Kirkland, St-Henri, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, St Leonard and Blainville. In 2019 they opened a location in Vaudreuil-Dorion. It has become a fast growing franchise expecting more new locations.

In 2021, Boustan opened their first location outside the Greater Montreal area in Lévis.

As of March 2022, a location in Ottawa on Rideau street and in Scarborough Ontario would be the first locations opened outside of Quebec bringing the franchises to a total of 41 locations.

## See also[edit]

* List of Lebanese restaurants

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g Faure, Elizabeth (2011-05-03). "Bye bye Boustans?". Montreal Mirror. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
2. ^ a b c Brownstein, Bill (2012-03-25). "Popular Lebanese eatery changes hands". The Gazette. Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
3. ^ Szuper, Victor (2011-02-01). ""Mr. Boustan" looking to sell". McGill Tribune. Retrieved 26 March 2012.[permanent dead link]
4. ^ a b Hazan, Jeremy (2015-08-12). "Montreal's West Island To Open A Boustan Restaurant On St-Jean Blvd". MTL Blog. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
5. ^ Cipolla, Miranda (2016-02-08). "Montreal Is Opening An All-New Boustan Restaurant In Laval". MTL Blog. Retrieved 19 February 2016.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boustan Restaurant (Crescent Street).

* BOUSTAN - Lebanese Restaurant