Arcade Fire husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne have announced plans to expand their talents to the culinary field, opening up a Haitian restaurant in Montreal. The new establishment, Agrikol, will open this summer.
The new venture is a collaboration with Roland Jean and Jen Agg, owners Toronto’s The Black Hoof and Rhum Corner. The unique concept will feature a music and art space, as well as authentic foods and flavors.
Chassagne is of Haitian origin, and the band has worked to raise several million dollars for the country in recent years.
The Globe and Mail further explains, “Featuring Haitian cuisine, music and visual arts, the space will build on the cultural advocacy work that Chassagne and Butler have demonstrated since Montreal-based Arcade Fire started raising funds for Haiti in 2005. For Agg and the Haitian-born Jean (who is also a painter), it will be a chance to take their signature, convivial restaurant style beyond Toronto’s Dundas Street West.”
“The idea is that it’s a cultural space,” continues Butler. “The thing that we were really impressed with at Rhum Corner is that it’s this space for Haitian and Caribbean culture and it’s really cool and contemporary.”
As for the food, Agg describes it as “slightly differently, but the food and flavours are really authentic. It’s going to be fun because there is just a much larger [Haitian] community [in Montreal], so we have access to ingredients that we don’t have in Toronto.”
[Via Eater]