Fairmount Bagel is opening a dedicated café in Mile End

Montreal's bagel wars just got a new front. Fairmount Bagel, the 107-year-old Mile End institution, is expanding with a dedicated café at 65 Fairmount West, directly across the street from their bakery.

Details a scant, but the new venture—which seems to be dubbed Café Fairmount Bagel—takes over the space formerly occupied by The Standard, a neighbourhood fixture since 2012. While details remain scarce, the bakery has put up decals in the window.

Founded by Isadore Shlafman, a Russian immigrant who first set up shop on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, Fairmount Bagel moved to its current Fairmount Avenue location in 1949, but it's always been a business that's been hand-rolling bagels since 1919. The bakery has remained in the Shlafman family for four generations, with its wood-fired ovens running around the clock to produce the honey-sweetened, sesame-coated rings that have become synonymous with the city.