Changement de nom pour le pub « Ye Olde Orchard »
Ye Olde Orchard Pub changes to ‘Maison publique Orchard’ to comply with Quebec language law
Pub chain co-owner says no one in the government can explain its guidelines on signage, but “we are doing our best to comply.”
René Bruemmer
Published Nov 09, 2023 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 3 minute read
A new sign outside Ye Olde Orchard Pub on Monkland Ave. The pub changed its name to avoid trouble with the Office québécois de la langue française. PHOTO BY JOHN KENNEY /Montreal Gazette
After 27 years of being known as Ye Olde Orchard Pub, the sign outside the Monkland Ave. restaurant and bar changed this week, to Maison publique Orchard.
Owners of the establishment made the changes after a complaint was lodged with the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) last spring. Quebec’s French-language watchdog told the owners the sign would have to be altered to include French words that describe its business activities. They were also told more stringent signage rules would be coming into effect in 2025 — but Quebec had not yet disclosed what those rules would be.
Rather than having to spend thousands of dollars changing their signs twice, the owners of the Orchard Group chain of eight pubs, of which the Monkland location is the flagship operation, came up with a solution they believe will also comply with stricter regulations coming into effect as of June 1, 2025 under the Charter of the French Language as amended by Bill 96.
But they’re not exactly sure.
“We (made the change) based on the guidelines the OQLF gave us when we first reached out,” said Joe Pilotte, co-owner and vice-president of operations for the Orchard Group. “According to my understanding of the guidelines, no one understands the guidelines. No one has the answer, and to be honest, no one is very confident with their answers.”
Pilotte said one “incredibly nice lady” from the OQLF did tell them: “‘I don’t know what to tell you, but if they’re giving you warnings now, as of June 1, 2025, it’s only going to get worse.’ So we are doing our best to comply. Obviously we don’t want to get fined, we’re still coming out of COVID, it’s always a hard time for restaurants to survive, you throw in COVID and the threat of fines …
Nouvelle reprise par City News
Montreal pub changes sign to comply with OQLF orders
“It’s never fun to be threatened with fines,” says Joe Pilotte of the Orchard Group, which owns the Orchard pubs in Montreal. The pub added a French descriptor to its signs in order to comply with the OQLF. Swidda Rassy reports.