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Tiny Diner, which only sits 11 at its counter and has no inside tables, has always lived up to its definition of grease spoons.
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Montreal Gazette Photo by Tim Snow /.Montreal Gazette
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Fans of Cosmos, one of Montreal’s most famous greasy spoons, fear the legendary NDG diner might not be around for long.
“Oh my god, I hope this place doesn’t fall into the wrong hands where someone buys it and drives it into the ground,” Ezra Soiferman said in a phone interview on Monday.
Soiferman is the Montreal-based filmmaker who made the acclaimed 2000 documentary Man of Grease, which told the story of Cosmos founder Tony Koulakis.
More than five decades after roasting into the hearts – and arteries – of Montrealers, the legendary diner is up for sale. Cosmos is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but is shipping via DoorDash. Cosmos was only ever open for lunch and breakfast, and the tiny restaurant, which seats 11 at its counter and has no indoor tables, always lived up to its definition of grease spoons, often enough when co-owner Nikos Koulakis cooks the bacon himself. Eggs and fried potatoes.
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The price for the restaurant advertised on centris.ca is $ 75,000. However, if the buyer also acquires the Cosmos name, it will cost an additional $ 50,000. The monthly rent is $ 1,250 and the restaurant had sales of $ 159,795 in 2018.
“I want this place to remain an institution,” said Soiferman. “It was so small and yet bigger than life. There are 11 chairs in this place. It was like walking into a theater every time you walked in the doors. The food was shimmering with love and fat. It was a dinosaur, a holdover from greasy spoons that almost all went the way of the dodo bird. We only have a few such places left in Montreal and it has remained practically unchanged since 1967. “
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Founded in 1967 by Koulakis, Cosmos gained a loyal following that spanned Montreal society, a clientele drawn by the low prices of the Sherbrooke St. Diner, the large portions, the seemingly endless supply of hash browns, and the utter lack of food Claim was tightened. Cosmos made headlines in 2013 when Koulakis’ son John Koulakis killed his father. He later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
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Imagine Realties real estate agent Beverley Byford expects bids within a day and is confident Cosmos will be sold. The owners, Nikos and sister Niki Koulakis, declined to comment.
“I’ve had a lot of interest,” said Byford, adding that if the restaurant sells it may not stay as a brunch diner.
“Well, it depends on what the new buyer wants to do,” Byford said. “I could have a shopper who wants to go to a bakery or a cheese store.”
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This is exactly what long-time Cosmos fans fear. That the old school fried eggs shop will close to make way for a trendy new shop.
“It was just one of those places where you got real food that was homemade and delicious and not good for you, just cooked with heart and soul,” said Montreal musician Joshua Dolgin – aka Socalled – who said composed the soundtrack for Man of Grease and was a loyal Cosmos customer.
“It had a taste and a mood and it was personal,” added Dolgin. “It wasn’t this faceless place. It was this real place with real people you talk to and care about. They would sit side by side with strangers and everyone would chat. There are no more such places in the world. It was cheap and humble and it was just about anything a restaurant could be but nothing more. It’s all over. It’s also gentrification and the economy and the people who don’t care to support real Sh – at all levels. “
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Owners wouldn’t comment on why they are putting Cosmos for sale, but the Montreal restaurant business has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. They’ve all been closed for several weeks, although some restaurants are take-out and there’s no reopening date yet. And if they do, they’ll likely have to force customers to sit socially far away, which significantly reduces the number of customers at any given point in time.
But Soiferman still hopes for the cosmos.
“It could thrive because everyone loves a good, fatty breakfast every now and then,” Soiferman said. “The community that takes place around this counter is beautiful. They can connect at the micro level, and you really don’t get that anymore in a lot of places. I think there is a great need for such a place. “
bkelly@postmedia.com
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