Little Maghreb: The faces and places of Montreal's diasporic North African neighbourhood

It’s Saturday morning in Petit Maghreb. If any of the businesses here has a TV, you can bet that they are streaming the African Cup. The coffee shops are full of men who have let their coffees get cold while watching someone score a goal, and in the bakery, people keep one eye on the screen and another on the bread.

Located at the end of the Blue Line, this section of Jean-Talon is so dense with businesses that you could miss one if you blink. The neighbourhood has long been one of immigrants. As Italian businesses on Jean-Talon moved to other areas, barbers, halal butchers, and cafés serving strong coffee and just as strong mint tea moved in.

While Montrealers of North African descent live across the city, Jean-Talon is where many descend for groceries and celebrations like Ramadan – or a big soccer match.

Through the stories and foods of Petit Maghreb, one starts to understand what it means to belong to multiple places.

The North African diaspora

Waves of people have immigrated from North Africa to Quebec, with the arrival of Sephardic Jewish families in the 1950s, followed by students, professionals and artists drawn to Montreal after Expo 67.

During the 1990s and 2000s, back when the Backstreet Boys and Jean Leloup were heavy hitters on Musique Plus, Quebec’s immigration policy increasingly favoured people who spoke French. As immigrants came from countries such as Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, businesses sprung up to serve this growing North African clientele. 

In 2008, the stretch of Jean-Talon between Saint-Michel and Pie-IX was officially recognized as Petit Maghreb, or Little Maghreb. Maghreb is the Arab term for west, and encompasses Arab and Amazigh communities across northwestern Africa.

A snapshot of Petit Maghreb

While the Plateau may be known for its high number of food stores per capita, the neighbourhood of Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension has almost the same concentration. Considering just bakeries, there are at least six that are visible on the 1km strip of Jean-Talon.

According to its owner Mohssene, Boulangerie Salem was the first bakery with an Arab inflection on Jean-Talon, opening 27 years ago. Upon entering, patrons are greeted with a long display of cakes of all kinds – rolled into perfect coils, stacked entremets of a dozen flavours, and a case of cookies such as Mohssene’s favourite, the almond petit four.

The offering includes baked goods across Algerian, Moroccan, and Tunisian cuisines. Their bread is a big draw, and the hoagie buns are used for merguez sandwiches in the neighbourhood, but they are also popular with Vietnamese clients for bánh mì. Today, Boulangerie Salem sells their bread at groceries across the city.

Smain uses the expertise he honed over 45 years as a pastry chef, first learning from his father, and then from years of running his own business. 

Down the street, Pâtisserie Trésors Sucrés is run by owner Smain and his wife, both Amazigh from Algeria. Along with their team of bakers, Smain uses the expertise he honed over 45 years as a pastry chef, first learning from his father, and then from years of running his own business. 

The pastry cases are filled with what looks like veritable treasure: Cakes glittering in sugar, cookies encrusted with nuts, and shiny pastries under a coat of honey. Everything is made by hand, and their dedication has made them a regular stop for clients who want to add something sweet either to their afternoon or for a special event.

The baked goods are almost too numerous to count, including Algerian baklawa.

Though not technically part of Petit Maghreb, Boulangerie BST is just one street south on Bélair. The owner Hind named the bakery after the initials of her three children, and offers a wide variety of sweet and savoury goods inspired by recipes across Algeria. Don’t miss the msemen, a folded flatbread that is filled with cheese and tomato sauce, which Hind will make you promise to heat properly on a pan and on both sides. The baked goods are almost too numerous to count, including Algerian baklawa, made with a pastry base instead of phyllo and covered with honey, preserving it for up to two months.

Back on Jean-Talon, Marché Castel specializes in North African products, shipping fruits, vegetables, and other foods directly from Algeria on a weekly basis. Operated by owner Kamereddine Bensalem and his son Abdelbari, the family business takes pride in bringing the best of Algeria, such as several grades of dates, some of which can be hard to find even within Algeria.

Their dedication to Algerian products has brought clients who travel from as far as Toronto or even the United States, nostalgic for a flavour of home.

Their dedication to Algerian products has brought clients who travel from as far as Toronto or even the United States, nostalgic for a flavour of home.

Abedelbari explains that his family is also rooted in Quebec, and that it is important for them to share these foods with clients of all backgrounds, such as when they hosted an event to share food with the community for the Amazigh New Year.

On the savoury side, Café Resto Fennec serves up loubia (Morrocan white bean stew), its warmth a welcome respite from the winter wind.

Meanwhile, Döner Istanbul has large plates, heaped generously with chicken or beef doner, salad, rice, and potatoes. You won’t have room to eat more after that plate, but get a kunefe anyway, which has a base of cheese and nuts, layered with pastry threads called kataifi, the whole thing covered in golden syrup.

The halal butcher Boucherie Classico has only been open a year, but they are already popular in the neighbourhood. Moms stop by for Quebec lamb or merguez, but kids—and others looking for a quick lunch—come in for a sandwich.

Nabil was born and raised in the neighbourhood, and it was important for him to offer an affordable, everyday sandwich.

They are particularly known for their halal smoked meat sandwich, but Nabil, one of two managers, says that the steak sandwich should not be missed. Strips of steak are fried to order on a flat top grill, slathered in zippy sauce Algérienne and an earthy harissa paste, topped with lettuce, and put in a hoagie bun from the bakery across the street. “It’s important that the bread is fresh—no dry bread here,” asserts Nabil. The sandwich is absolutely delicious.

Nabil was born and raised in the neighbourhood, and it was important for him to offer an affordable, everyday sandwich. The aforementioned steak sandwich and a can of citrusy Hamoud soda will cost you only $8.50. It’s probably one of the best lunch deals in the city.

There's all-dressed, and then there's dressed to the nines

It’s not only food in Petit Maghreb, and Boutique Takwa is a store offering a variety of headscarves, oils, perfumes, and other religious objects for the Islamic faith. The owner Azamoucht is half-French and half-Algerian, and he chose the area precisely because of the sense of community around it.

Maison Hayaat also offers scarves in a rainbow of colours, in addition to abayas, loose-flowing robes that are shipped directly from Dubai. The shop was opened by the ambitious young owner Layla, but today it’s her mom Hassina on the floor. Her face lights up as she tells stories of clients from across Montreal, finding their perfect outfit to mark a special occasion.

Hassina also owns a sports store in Petit Maghreb, and it’s clear that being part of these moments in clients’ lives is a source of joy.

Through the stories and foods of Petit Maghreb, one starts to understand what it means to belong to multiple places. To leave behind ancestors, friends, careers, and the desert; to raise generations in a new place, with its share of challenges in a province that is often uneasy with immigration; and to have a little of Maghreb in your being, while also having a little of Jean-Talon, Montreal, and Canada.