“Nosh around and find out.”
That’s the message from Saint-Henri business owner Corey Shapiro to Quebec’s language watchdog.
Shapiro spray-painted his own storefront window over the weekend with the word “NOSH” in solidarity with Arthurs, the popular brunch spot on Notre-Dame Street, just two blocks away from Shapiro’s Vintage Frames.
“OQLF… Hi !!!” Shapiro wrote in big white lettering.
A post shared by Corey Shapiro (@vintageframes)
“We stand with the homies @arthursmtl, and every Montreal business English or French should too. We all live in this beautiful city together, don’t let them try to divide us based on the languages we speak,” reads the caption on the glasses store’s Instagram page.
It’s all part of the fallout from Arthurs Nosh Bar receiving a complaint from the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) because of the word “nosh” in their restaurant window. Nosh is a Yiddish term that means to snack or enjoy a light meal.
Vintage Frames is one of many Montreal businesses showing their support by adding the word “nosh” to their storefront using spray-paint or marker.
“Falafel. Taco. Dim sum. Gelato. Satay. Souvlaki. Nosh. A few of the many food words that have crossed borders, oceans and generations before becoming part of the language we all speak: food,” wrote Mandy’s Salads on Instagram Saturday.
“Today we covered our window with them in support of @arthursmtl and in celebration of the vibrant, delicious, wonderfully diverse food culture that makes Montreal, Montreal.”
In another video shared to Arthurs’ own Instagram page, popular chef David McMillan can be seen writing the word “nosh” on the door of his restaurant Grille-Nature in Dollard-des-Ormeaux.
A post shared by Mandy’s Salads (@mandysalads)
Also showing solidarity was Lahmajoune, a Villeray bakery that received a complaint from the OQLF for its TikTok posts.
New regulations under Bill 96 through Quebec’s French-language Charter came into effect last June. They require that French be strongly predominant on all signs and commercial advertising visible to the public, with French text generally occupying at least twice the space of any other language.
“It said basically that 75 per cent of signage had to be in French,” Arthurs co-owner Raegan Steinberg told CityNews last week of the complaint. “And because there’s three words, Arthurs Nosh Bar… Arthurs they don’t count, which I didn’t know. Nosh, the Yiddish, non-French, and bar, which can be French or English. So because of that, nosh and bar were 50 per cent compliant and not 75.”
Without commenting on Arthurs’ case specifically, a spokesperson for the OQLF told CityNews the law makes no exceptions.
“The Office’s mission is to ensure compliance with the Charter, guaranteeing the right of Quebecers to live, work, access information, and receive services in French. Therefore, the Office is there to ensure respect for the Charter,” said François Laberge.
“Of course, we are sensitive to the realities faced by businesses, and we are here to support them. However, it’s the law, and it applies to all businesses with a physical presence in Quebec that offer services in Quebec.”
–With files from Lola Kalder
