With a menu translated into French and an employee with the same last name as the mayor of Quebec, the Korean restaurant Bab Sang reopened its doors Wednesday evening to the delight of its many customers.
• Read also: Korean restaurant Bab Sang: Marchand makes a mini mea culpa
• Read also: The restaurateur says he is the victim of intimidation
“I found four hours in my schedule and I’m happy to help them. They are adorable,” said Béatrice Marchand, a student at the École du Barreau du Québec who is not related to Bruno Marchand.
The young woman has not been idle on Wednesday through the reception of customers, take-out orders, telephone reservations and invoicing to be completed. At the end of the line, the calls were a little longer because of the messages of encouragement.
Without being totally crowded, the dining room was very busy. Already, the smiling staff has learned a few customary formulas such as “bon appétit”.
The newspaper was able to taste an excellent “Bul-go-gi BBQ”, or slices of grilled and marinated Korean beef.
A pride to develop
Caught in a politico-linguistic saga, the restaurant on Avenue Maguire, in Sillery, has made headlines since October 12 because it was almost impossible to obtain service in French there.
Without presenting a formal apology, Bruno Marchand admitted that he should have shown more “benevolence” in this file.
The mayor had previously said that the shortage of labor should not be a “pretext” for not serving customers in French. Mr. Marchand agreed that he “certainly” might have expressed himself differently.
“There is indeed a lack of benevolence towards our traders who take the initiative to come and settle. Already opening a business for a French-speaking Quebecer is a lot of effort. So, someone who decides to uproot themselves, it takes a bit of community benevolence.
You have to develop pride in seeing them learn instead of being angry,” explained Stéphanie Salmaan, the first client of the evening with her spouse and their 21-month-old son.
“It was a bit ill-advised on the part of the mayor,” added Marc Boivin, a big fan of Korean food.
“It surprised me coming from him who worked at Centraide. But he apologized and that’s fine,” said another customer who requested anonymity.
The restaurateur did not want to comment on its reopening. Those around him explain that he wants to protect his children “who do not know racism”.
The latter will be able to count on temporary employees and volunteer servers to reopen his restaurant and offer service in French.
Conclusion positive
Business Development Corporation (SDC) chief executive Maguire said he was happy to see that in the end, people are coming together in solidarity behind the owner.
“I am very proud of the reaction of people in the neighborhood. Citizens, politicians and traders are ready to help him. They understand the situation well and they want to correct it in order to welcome it. We are in a situation of adaptation and not of a negation of the French fact, ”commented Bruno Salvail.
According to him, the restaurateur was required to learn a third language in just four months.
“Hence my call for tolerance. He will learn it. I’m not worried. In six months to a year, he will be able to hold a conversation in French.”
