Champs Sports Bar is being forced to close for five days starting Thursday due to an ongoing noise dispute with a neighbour.
It’s one of many venues in Montreal that’s been fined or had to close due to noise complaints.
Gemma Moffat has been a regular at the bar for two years and said it’s a special place for her and her friends. She even hosts Trivia Night once a month.
She said she finds it frustrating that Champs is struggling with noise complaints considering there are other bars in the same building.
“A lot of people call Champs home and you have to question why it’s making people upset to hear a bit of music,” Moffat said.
The bar on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, which has become a hotspot for the LGBTQ+ community, had to ban all karaoke and dance activities in December as a result of the noise complaint.
The Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux (RACJ) requires alcohol permit holders to have an additional licence to allow what it calls “the practice of dance” in an establishment, mainly to regulate nightclubs.
Following the noise complaint, the bar was summoned to an RACJ hearing with their neighbour in November.
The bar agreed to build a sound-proof wall, pay a $3,000 fine and suspend activities for five days — starting Thursday — as a penalty.
Manager Kat Anderson said the impact is being felt by employees who are losing out on a week of shifts, including their lucrative weekend period.
“We’ll reopen Tuesday at 5 p.m. and we hope everyone will come out and support us,” she said. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed and hoping [the permit] comes through very soon.”
A few queer collectives who held dance-related events at Champs have had to change venues to host their events since the dancing ban came into effect.
“It’s just not the same,” said Anderson. “We really, really want to get back to transforming the bar from a sports bar in the day to a dance club at night because it’s something special that you don’t get everywhere.”
She added her clientele feels targeted.
Pamela Bernstein, an administrative employee at Champs who has been working on resolving the issue, said the bar has been working to secure its dance permit since the hearing.
She said the process is “complicated” and involves multiple steps and approvals.
Bernstein said the bar already received the borough’s occupation permit, compliant with city bylaws.
It then paid the application fee to the RACJ, but has yet to receive an update.
“The case is currently under analysis,” said Joyce Tremblay, with the RACJ. “I cannot give you an exact date as we are working with the police force concerned.”
The borough said it is “urging [the RACJ] to speed up the processing of the permit for this iconic Saint-Laurent establishment” in a statement.
The soundproof wall is now built, and the bar is waiting for testing and approval by Montreal police (SPVM) and the RACJ.
Noise tests carried out following the soundproofing work confirmed the noise level complies with the city’s standards, said the borough. However, Bernstein said there will be no more karaoke at the bar as it requires a show permit, which has already been rejected.
The SPVM declined to comment as the dispute is ongoing.
