After months of pleading from the public, the viral Montreal sandwich shop Bossa is opening a West Island location.
Scheduled to launch in October, the Italian deli is bringing its popular sandwiches to the Centennial Plaza on des Sources Blvd. in Dollard-Des-Ormeaux.
“We probably got maybe 10 to 15 DMs every single day, of people asking us to open up in the West Island. Obviously, the demand is there,” Daniel Lo Manto, one of Bossa’s founders, said in an interview.
Bossa started out primarily as a deli at their flagship Wellington St. location in 2018, but quickly became known for their sandwich counter.
Lo Manto, a born and raised Italian Montrealer, said what differentiates Bossa from the rest is the Philadelphia influence on the sandwiches, coming from his father’s side of the family.
“What Montrealers thought a sandwich was, like an Italian sandwich, is a very simple cold cut sandwich with few ingredients. And don’t get me wrong — that’s a fantastic sandwich,” he said.
“What made them go really viral is just the abundance of ingredients and the thick stacks of thinly sliced cold cuts, and pickled and marinated vegetables, vinaigrettes, mayos,” he said. “It’s not something that was very common.”
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Much of the inspiration for Bossa’s sandwich styles stems from Philly cheese steaks and hoagies.
“We have this like Philadelphia connection that I have from my father. All of his family lives on that side of the border, and I grew up basically going to Philly once or twice a year, and I wanted to bring some of that inspiration back to Montreal,” Lo Manto added.
Today, Bossa has four locations: the flagship store in Verdun, Time Out Market in the Eaton Centre, Promenade Masson in Montreal’s east end, and Brossard.
While Lo Manto is excited about the new West Island location, he says there are no plans to turn Bossa into a corporate franchise.
“We want to keep it quality first. So I think right now it’s only manageable on like one location at a time, and it’s got to be like the quality control has to be there at all times.”
Leora Schertzer is a reporter at the Montreal Gazette who thrives on the chase. Whether it’s producing a documentary about sewage or investigating a Nazi gold scandal, it’s the novelty and adrenaline that keep her in this challenging industry. Send her tips at lschertzer@postmedia.com.
lschertzer@postmedia.com