Our Story
MONTREAL’S BEST KEPT SECRET
Through the black door, take the stairs down into a transformed 19th century cold storage warehouse. The Coldroom offers a unique drinking experience from the moment you ring the bell. Expect warm and welcoming service focused on hospitality, classic style cocktails and whiskey. That’s if you can find it….
#followtheduck
WHY THE DUCK?
The notorious Coldroom rubber duck logo was inspired by a small police unit dubbed ‘The Rubber Duck Squad’ that was created in Montreal in the 1970’s. The unit was focused on gang activity in the south-west region of the city, spanning from the Old Port to Pointe Saint-Charles. Crime peaked in the shadow of night and the gangsters wreaked havoc on the streets and occupied many of the bars and clubs in the area. The motto of the Duck Squad was ‘take the nightlife by storm’ as they sought to pull apart the web of crime and clean up the city's nightlife.
Not only did The Rubber Duck Squad inspire our logo, but also our ethos. We strive through our business practices to take the traditional nightlife work ethic by storm and reinvent it in a way that promotes a healthy work/life relationship and encourages our staff to grow and thrive. We want to prioritize and promote positive change in the Montreal hospitality industry and incentivize our staff to achieve respect and success.
THE BUILDING
The space that now houses The Coldroom was originally built as a warehouse by Côme-Séraphin Cherrier in 1877. Several smaller stone houses were demolished to make way for the new building and the purchase of two surrounding strips of land by the City of Montreal dictated the shape of the lot as it exists now. After several years of vacancy in the midst of an economic crisis the first tenant to occupy the site was Gustave R. Fabre, an importer of hardware, saddlery and harness supplies.
After the death of Côme-Séraphin in 1885, his two daughters, Philomène Charlotte and Marie Josephte Louise took possession of the building and entered into a rental agreement with wholesale grocer Charles Langlois. It was Charles Langlois who fitted the site with a refrigeration system and built a tunnel under the lane towards what is now the William Gray Hotel (at his own expense). Langlois and his business, Gunn Langlois Company occupied the site until 1932 and during this 50 year tenancy many changes were made, including a two storey high brick extension making the building the height we now see today.
Since the 1930s the building passed hands multiple times, it was even a Turkish bath for a period of several years! Through the middle of the century it was once again used as a storage facility for fruits and vegetables before the upper floors were converted to lofts and the ground level businesses commenced to cater to the tourist traffic of Old Montreal.
