The End of an Era: Patisserie Rhubarbe Closes Its Beloved Plateau Location

Stéphanie Labelle closes shop on Avenue Laurier

Stéphanie Labelle and her husband Julien José

The news was announced on Instagram on June 19th, and confusion quickly took hold. Could it be that Montreal's top pâtisserie was closing its beloved Plateau location? The post explained that they would be focusing on catering and offering their beautiful cakes and pastries only through online orders for weekly pickup. While that's the plan, when I've mentioned this to people since the news broke, most have said, "They aren't closing, they're just moving."

Well, yes and no. The shop is closing and they are moving, but daily operations at Patisserie Rhubarbe will end this Saturday.

A Need for Change

I spoke to Rhubarbe's chef-owner Stephanie Labelle this week, beginning with one big question: why? Her answer was simple: "After 15 years, I need a break."

I have known Labelle since she opened Rhubarbe in November 2011 on de Lanaudière Street. Hers was a true pâtisserie where cakes, not baguettes, ruled, and with pastries that tasted as beautiful as they looked. A graduate of the ITHQ pastry program, Labelle staged in France for famous Parisian pastry chef Pierre Hermé before working at places like Area, Les Chocolats de Chloé, Le 357C, and La Salle à Manger before striking out on her own.

At the time, she told me: "It took two months of hard work to get Rhubarbe up and running. My parents helped, my brother painted the ceiling, and my boyfriend installed the lamps. There was so much going on that getting to the baking was hard. Everything eventually came together, and the next thing I knew it was my first day and the first customer was walking through the door."

A Revolutionary Approach

Labelle also had a novel approach, making all her cakes and pastries fresh daily at a time when pastry shops let cakes linger in refrigerated cases until they sold. As Labelle explained in those early days: "I thought there was a place for this sort of pastry shop because I was seeing the same thing everywhere—cakes topped with raspberries in February. It's not the most efficient way to work, and it's labor-intensive, but to keep the products fresh, it's the best way to go. People are aware that if they come here at the end of the day on a Saturday, they might not be able to get a lemon tart, so they know to order ahead."

That same approach could be found at Griffintown's Patrice Pâtissier (now closed), where co-owner and head pastry chef Patrice Demers also made pastries fresh daily. Yet Labelle was the first to open a Montreal pastry boutique in this style. One bite of her Paris-Brest with lime, strawberry and tarragon, her chocolate-raspberry dacquoise, or her perfect lemon tart topped with peaks of Italian meringue, and you're sure to notice that her cakes are lighter, less sweet, and based on more creative flavour combinations than the usual fare.

Some of Labelle’s beautiful creations

The Challenges of Success

But with success come challenges, and many of those challenges revolved around being a mother to two toddlers. "Running this business is very demanding, very tiring. Weekends have been especially hard. On Saturdays we have a nanny, and on Sundays my parents take care of the kids." While Labelle takes oversees the shop, her husband, chef Julien Joré, runs the catering business. "Financially we're doing really, really well," says Labelle, "and my accountant says we're crazy to leave now. But she also says that if we're doing well, it's because we are always here."

Family life has been the main challenge, but there are others. After four years of enduring construction on her home street in Pointe-St-Charles, Labelle was informed by the city—a month after that construction finished—that they would be opening up Avenue Laurier in 2028. Even though that was years away, Labelle had had her fill. So in November, she and Joré signed a lease for a commercial kitchen space near their home at 1320 Charlevoix Street close to the Atwater Market.

Like so many of the city's chefs, Labelle mentioned labor shortages as another deterrent to continuing in the same format. "When things rolled really well, it was amazing," she says. "But then I lost a lot of staff before Christmas and it has become difficult to find reliable people. I feel that after all of these years, I'm still covering for a lot of people I'm paying. And because I'm a bit of a control freak, I'm not ready to have someone else take over. "

The New Chapter

In the new format, customers will be able to order cakes and pastries online, as well as canapés, sandwiches, and catered meals. They’ll have a smaller team and, most importantly, be closer to home with a less grueling schedule.

Rhubarbe’s cakes, pastries and so much more can now be ordered online.

Customers are now realizing the shop is just days away from closing, and Labelle is seeing business pick up even more. "Word is getting out about our closing. We have a lot of regulars and people are talking. It's a neighborhood place. People are sad—some were even crying. You realize you are feeding people. Some people come every day. There's a man who has come here every day for 15 years!"

What's Next

The locale will not be empty long, as Boulangerie Toledo will be taking over the space. There is even talk of perhaps including Labelle's creations in their offerings. Labelle is also open to possibly opening a retail space again once her kids are older. “In five or 10 years she says. Maybe…”

Looking back, I recall interviewing Labelle in Rhubarbe’s early days. When I asked her shop was a dream come true, she beamed, saying, "Definitely! I'm just 28 and I already have all this. I'm still learning, but I felt I had to do this now. It might not always be perfect, but I like to try things and just go for it."

And she certainly has. It would not be an exaggeration to describe Labelle as one of the greatest pastry chefs this city has ever seen, and without a doubt the one whose taste and talent never cease to impress and amaze not only me but countless fans.

Labelle’s gorgeous wedding cakes and strawberry tarts.

"We've had a lot of success," says Labelle four days before closing her shop, "but it also burned me out. I was crying my heart out two weeks ago. And I'm still really sad. I still want to do things nicely, but I'm ready for something else."

Rhubarbe's last day of operations will be this Saturday, July 12. Labelle and her brigade will be preparing a large cake to celebrate and thank customers, which they are aiming to serve at about noon.

For future orders check out their website at patisserierhubarbe.com or click here.

So many of her beautiful cakes can be ordered. Just plan your festivities around the Saturday pick-up date!