Another Point St. Charles landmark doomed to close

The Capri Brasserie on St. Patrick will close forever on Dec. 23 and the building will be demolished, a staffer has told Coolopolis, although a borough official said that no demolition has been authorized.

Capri employees 2006

   The Capri, on the southeast corner of Laprairie, was a competitor of Magnans, two blocks west, which also closed recently.
   St. Patrick Street has been entirely closed for repairs for many months, a factor that could not have helped business.
   For a time many of the English-speaking people who didn't feel too at home at Magnans moved over to this place where old-time Irishmen were known to sing at their tables.
   In recent times it has been run by former NHL winger Yvon Lambert, who twice scored 32 goals and won four Stanley Cups for the Canadiens playing on an effective third line with Doug Risebrough and Mario Tremblay.
 

Anthony Bourdain once featured the Capri on his show

 The Capri opened in about 1960, a time when Point St. Charles had about 40,000 residents, about twice what it has today and plenty of blue collar jobs to fill their pockets.
   That era ended a few years later when industrial jobs shut down and many moved away or went on welfare.
   About half of the homes in the area are now government subsidized and it has become one of the poorest areas in the city.
   St. Patrick Street, however, appears to have some waterside appeal as it's just a puck's toss from the idyllic Lachine Canal and not far from the poser-tastique Atwater Market, so some upscale potential exists for further wealthification.   

See also:

• Capri on St. Patrick - a Montreal city icon
• Magnan's closing after 82 years