Montreal’s Mile End: a neighbourhood characterized by its Jewish history, architecture, café culture, and bagels. It’s also home to my favourite kosher bakery. Boulangerie Cheskie, or “Cheskie’s” as most customers lovingly call it, is a quintessential Jewish business owned by Orthodox couple Cheskie and Malky Liebowitz, who hail from Jewish communities in New York City and Montreal, respectively.
In order to fully appreciate Mile End institutions like Cheskie’s and their impact on the local community, it’s important to explore the history of the neighbourhood. With a large Hasidic Jewish population, as well as a French-Canadian, Portuguese, and Italian presence, the neighbourhood is a confluence of cultures, showcased by storefronts on Parc Avenue, Fairmount Avenue, and Saint-Viateur Street. With a rise in gentrification in the 1980s and ’90s, artsy hipsters started to frequent these streets, transforming family-owned businesses into urban boutiques that charm an array of local window shoppers.
However, Cheskie’s, founded in 2002, did not fall prey to these trends. It retains the older, urban roots of Mile End, keeping prices affordable and creating an open and inviting atmosphere. While one could wander into a delightful vegan, gluten-free bakery a few blocks down, the smell of pareve pastries is more than enough to draw and maintain crowds of devotees.
Friday is their busiest day, but even during the work week, Cheskie’s manages to attract a vast array of customers. I have waited in line with observant families, tourists, and construction workers, some patrons speaking Yiddish and others chatting in English, French, and Spanish–creating a multicultural community bonded together like the braided strands of Cheskie’s challahs.
On one of my routine Cheskie’s runs, a couple from Monsey, a Hasidic hamlet in upstate New York, shared that Cheskie’s was superior to the “heimishe” bakeries back home. They’ve only visited Montreal a handful of times, but each time, they return to Monsey with a trove of Russian babka, wafer cake, and jam cookies.
During my time in Montreal, I have recruited around a half dozen of my friends (Jews and non-Jews alike) to schlep to Mile End with me and enjoy the delicacies that Cheskie’s has to offer. Naturally, I was curious to learn about the fan favourites. Patma, Cheskie’s baker of eighteen years, deemed the “Russian babka, the number one most popular in the bakery. And the second is the rugelach.”
Though the recipes for these popular items originated in Eastern Europe, they are produced by a largely Hispanic staff who learn about kashrut, Jewish customs, and holidays through work and customer interactions.
While being hyper local and central to Mile End’s cultural diversity, Cheskie’s is also renowned internationally and secures a spot on tourist’s itineraries year after year. Nele, a young German woman visiting her family, shared, “We’re tourists here, but I’ve already been in Canada three times, so every time I was here, we went to Cheskie’s. For sweet things, it’s my favourite one. We don’t have that back home.”
Though there are many bakeries closer to McGill’s campus, I much prefer the neighbourhood charm and the conversations I have at Cheskie’s. The experience of sharing my favourite Jewish desserts with my friends certainly justifies the schlep. If you wish to experience the magic of Kosher confection yourself, visit Cheskie’s at 359 Rue Bernard, although be prepared to wait in line for your treat!
