Article content

Two pretty girls with long blond hair are sitting at Dépanneur Le Pick-Up’s crowded counter, eating raspberry pie and drinking coffee. A giant pink comb hangs on the wood-panelled wall behind them.

“I think that was picked up at a flea market somewhere,” explains chef Marc Giroux from behind the counter. He is piling kaiser buns with faux pulled pork, a vegetarian favourite, and topping them with dollops of coleslaw, during the busy lunch hour rush at the tiny dépanneur on Waverly St. in Little Italy.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Montreal dépanneurs are taking stock and getting creative Back to video

The 33-year-old trained chef has worked at Sousbois, Hvor and Grinder, some of Montreal’s swankier establishments. But the top-rated foodie hot spot where he’s working now has some unusual features.

Giroux gestures toward the shelves behind the girls. They are stocked with toilet paper and canned goods. “That stuff moves less,” he says with a grin, noting that even chips and beer don’t fly out of the store as quickly as takeout orders.