I’ve held off talking about this because Schwartz’s isn’t a part of my experience of Montréal. But smoked meat in general, and Schwartz’s in particular, is a big part of Montréal for many… hence the turnabout.

The Montreal Gazette, La Presse and other media organizations report that a sale is imminent. The rumor is the price is C$10 million and the new owner is a group of investors that includes René Angelil, the husband of Céline Dion. A confidentiality agreement surrounds all this, so we’re not likely to know much until there’s an official announcement of some kind, if any.

The Gazette article gives the interested tourist or the curious a couple tidbits that hint at the iconic status that Schwartz’s enjoys among many aficionados of smoked meat: first, there is no franchise; there aren’t even other outlets in Montreal – there’s only one Schwartz’s, and it’s on the Main (as boulevard St-Laurent is known locally); second, there’s “schmutz”:

According to the culinary experts, the key to Schwartz’s smoked-meat success is that no chemicals or preservatives are used in the curing of the beef. Nor does it hurt that the Schwartz’s smoke-house has 84 years of spices embedded in its walls – the “shmutz” factor – giving it its unique taste.

That’s 80 years of smoky, herbaceous buildup in the smokehouse, folks. That’s why the locals are touchy about what happens to Schwartz’s but we should note this isn’t the first sale in the deli’s history: it’s changed hands three times before.

Want more? There’s a modest article on Wikipedia about Schwartz’s.

photo: seoulpolaris