A taco restaurant in Montreal had its grand opening on Saturday, attracting crowds of young customers — as well as the police.
Earlier in the week, Mont Tacos on Rue Saint-Denis ramped up a social media campaign to market a $2 taco promotion for its opening, which began at 1:00 p.m. on November 14.
Social media posts also show the restaurant urging Montrealers to show up at their restaurant for its grand opening, captioning: "IT’S GOING TO BE CRAZY 🧨🧨🧨."
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The restaurant closed temporarily until the situation could be under control.
A spokesperson for the SPVM on Mont-Tacos' grand opening
During the opening, the restaurant posted images of social distancing signs on the ground outside, but the same images showed customers arriving in swarms early in the day.
As of 4 p.m., the restaurant posted an Instagram story that captures the police presence.
A spokesperson for the SPVM told MTL Blog that the restaurant was forced to close temporarily during the opening to allow police to disperse the crowds.
The SPVM spokesperson said no fines were issued for violating Quebec's COVID-19 public health protocols.
New Instagram stories posted by the restaurant after 4 p.m. show customers following two-metre social distancing protocols, waiting in single-file lines for tacos outside the doors.
Mehdi Ouchene, one of the owners of Mont Tacos on Saint-Denis, told MTL Blog he was not expecting such a big turnout.
He said the goal was 100 customers rather than the 5-600 who showed up.
"We were ready to welcome everybody safe and sound," he said. "We did not give [out] any tacos until [...] the line was respected."*
*This article has been updated.