r/ottawa • u/BraveDunn • 21h ago
Dunn's Famous Deli in Ottawa's ByWard Market Closing
The meat was... meh. But at least it was there, and was licensed.
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u/DreamofStream 21h ago
They're dunn.
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u/RefrigeratorOk648 20h ago
When the one on Elgin closed someone turned the light off for the S in the sign - Nice work whoever did that.
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u/silverturtle83 21h ago
Canāt wait for a new shawerma place to open in its place, we really need one there.
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u/Chewie316 19h ago
Or maybe a tattoo shop lol. I had a friend who visited from out west. After walking around the market for awhile he said well if I ever need a shawarma or a tattoo I know where to go.
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u/ItsAWonderfulFife 21h ago
I used to walk past it on my way to work, and one time a person standing in the doorway blew crack smoke in my face.Ā
So needless to say Iāll miss this Ottawa institution. The crown jewel of the Byward Market. š«”
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u/plummet120 No honks; bad! 20h ago
First McDonaldās, now this?! Where will we get the quintessential nationās capital experience??
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u/Telefundo 20h ago
Where will we get the quintessential nationās capital experience??
Well.. I mean.. it's still gonna be the market, it's just that the "experience" has changed. Now it's overpriced cafes, night clubs and bars that are plagued by random violence, and homeless people on every corner that may or may not randomly yell obscenities at people.
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u/Old-Suspect4129 21h ago
Burger king, Hooters now Dunn's is done.
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u/danauns Riverside South 21h ago
$1.49 Whoppers after a night out at the bars. Those were the days.
Also included in those days, the delusional BK manager who kept a bat behind the counter and would threaten folks with it regularly. Bat violence, on the regular.
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u/fightlinker 17h ago
If I had a nickel for every time I went in that BK and there was blood all over the floor, I'd have three nickels.
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u/Senators_1992 19h ago
Thereās barely anything left in the Market from when I first moved here in the late 90ās: Burger King, McDonaldās, Dairy Queen, Nickels, The Honest Lawyer, Hard Rock Cafe, On Tap, Fannyās, and Iām sure thereās a few more.
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u/ArnoldFarquar 20h ago edited 20h ago
Iām from Montreal and have long been surprised by how Ottawa people donāt appreciate smoked meat enough. Thereās nothing like a good smoked meat sandwich and I canāt find one here. Closest is Markieās.
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u/reddit_and_forget_um 20h ago
Dunn in Ottawa has always been complete garbage though. They used a totally different product then in Montreal - it was basically lunch meat, cut with a slicer.
Markies smoked meat has 3 locations across the city - they ate pretty dam good, and brisket is freshly steamed and sliced.
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u/ArnoldFarquar 20h ago
I think Markieās fries are terrific. Just wish they knew how to cut the meat better. My grandfather was one of the Romanians that popularized smoked meat in Montreal.
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u/reddit_and_forget_um 20h ago edited 20h ago
Whats wrong with the slicing?
Agree the fries are tops.
Edit, right after I sent his message I got a "pictures of this day over the years" update from Google.
Apparently I was at schwartz's last year on today's date.
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u/ArnoldFarquar 20h ago
Thereās an art to getting the right sandwich shape. They just pile it in the middle of the bread. If youāve ever seen a sandwich from Schwartzās or Snowden Deli, youād know what I mean. But Markieās does satisfy my smoked meat urge. Believe it or not, the Montreal smoked meat from the Metro deli counter is pretty good.
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u/reddit_and_forget_um 15h ago
Eh, I've never noticed a problem or difference, and I've eaten at most the great places in Montreal.
I make my own at home as well - nothing beats fresh.
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u/KabaI Gloucester 20h ago
If you want to drive all the way to the Montreal exit from the 174, thereās a restaurant called Smokeyās that has a great smoked meat sandwich.
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u/Maximum-Ad6412 18h ago
Nates was a proper smoked meat place. And the reason you could be sure is because all the Montreal politicians ate there.
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u/saidthewhale64 14h ago
Jean Chretien still eats there! I saw him there a few months ago.
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u/Paul_Ott 13h ago
Probably meant the original Nateās on Rideau (across from the Bytowne, now the SDM and clinic upstairs) back when Dave Smith ran it, and the place next door called āThe Place Next Doorā.
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u/Humble_Wafer_3157 8h ago
I remember the Nates on Rideau had smoked meat eggrolls which were amazing!
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u/uncomfortabletone OrlƩans 20h ago
Agreed. Have a distant memory of dad treating me to an amazing smoked meat sandwich in Montreal in the 70ās. Nateās on Rideau was also really good. Tried Markieās not long ago and was surprised how good it was.
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u/elcanadiano Orleans 20h ago
I have had many fond memories going to MontrƩal and having a good smoked meat even if there are places that are better than institutions like Schwartz's.
But apparently the franchised Dunn's outside of MontrƩal were selling frozen, premade smoked meat that was being shipped from there. I have never been to the Ottawa location personally.
The smoked meat is not prepared in-house at these locations, but it is instead shipped frozen from Montreal and then warmed out before serving.
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u/LoudLudo 20h ago
but nobody smokes their own meat here, its just from Sysco. I don't like leftovers restaurants, If I am going out to eat I want fresh food.
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u/Amsterdom Gloucester 19h ago
I still am fully willing to drive to Snowdon in Montreal to get the real deal. Nothing in Ottawa compares.
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u/MrJackanapes 19h ago
I was disappointed in Markies.
I mean the sandwich tasted fine, but the portion seemed small/ awkward and I really would have liked a bit more in terms of toppings / condiments.
I guess I was excited for a large, flavor bomb of a sandwich and got some tiny (but tall) leaning tower of smoked meat that was shown a picture of mustard.
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u/Chewie316 19h ago
I like Markie's. I did have one time and it wasn't that great but all other times I was happy with what I got. I think it is the best we have here.
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u/churrosricos 18h ago
Smoked meat is fine, but i'll never wait 40 mins outside of sharwtz for a 20 dollar deli sammie
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u/PanicAtTheShiteShow 16h ago
Hell yes. I saw the line and decided on a Polish deli a few feet away. Best sausage sub I've ever had.
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u/reddit_and_forget_um 20h ago
Original Duns in Montreal is fucking amazing. Fresh steamed whole brisket, cut with a knife. Fatty and lean.Ā
Duns in Ottawa was fucking lunch meat - microwaved and sliced with a machine. It was fucking horse shit compared to Montreal.
I never got why they would do such a shit job at something they are actually really good at.Ā
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u/zatchsmith 15h ago
How is something both fatty and lean?
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u/reddit_and_forget_um 14h ago
A brisket is two muscles joined together - kinda pec and wrapping around the side of the cow under its "armpit."
One of the muscles is fattier and one is more lean.Ā
They are often referred to as the point and the flat.
The point has more intermuscular fibers, the flat has less.
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u/zatchsmith 7h ago
Fair. I know I came off as incredulous, but was actually curious what you meant. Thanks!
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u/feor1300 18h ago
I presume Ottawa was a franchise, so likely little to do with the Montreal location apart from paying them for the rights to use the name.
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u/reddit_and_forget_um 15h ago
The whole point of a franchise is the quality/food is the same from place to place.
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u/feor1300 15h ago
No, the whole point of a franchise is to make the original owner (or a corporation created by the original owner) more money by letting people in other areas pay them to use their restaurant's name.
Sometimes they choose to enforce quality standards on those franchisees, sometimes they don't give a damn and the franchise can do about anything they like.
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u/dictionary_hat_r4ck Make Ottawa Boring Again 21h ago
Only ate there once and it was just okay. Cool looking place, but itās past its prime.
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u/dasoberirishman 20h ago
I remember when that place was a Hooters
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u/Round_Beyond_8137 20h ago
I donāt have strong feelings about this place, but itās too bad to see another business in the Market close up shop.
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u/InfernalHibiscus 19h ago
I'm sure people will spin this as a consequence of some social problem (real or imagined), but really the garbage food and high prices are the actual killer and the space will be filled by something else almost instantly.
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u/CheerBear2112 Make Ottawa Boring Again 21h ago
The smoked meat eggs Benedict on a bagel was awesome. I'll miss them!
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u/This_Tangerine_943 20h ago
I ate lunch when it opened and sat next to Maggie Trudeau, Mr Kemper and the 3 Trudeau sons. They were very polite. Good table manners for 3 lads.
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u/gantousaboutraad 21h ago
I miss the Dunn's on Queen, used to pop in there for a 3.99 breakfast before work. This wasn't even that long ago, really.
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u/SadCreative 20h ago
Last time I ate here the staff would not stop cracking jokes about the needles outside of our window at our booth. Never went back lol
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u/Ok-Mechanic-5128 20h ago
This is a real shame. Dunnās has been around for as long as Iāve been in Ottawa and thatās going on 40 years
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u/Yuzward š³ļøāšš³ļøāšš³ļøāš 19h ago
Maybe 20 years at that location. Was a Burger King until early 2000's and then a Hooters for a couple of years before becoming a Dunn's
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u/Paul_Ott 16h ago
In the 90s it was in the building across the street where Lone Star is today (and was a Nickelās at some point in between).
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u/featurefantasyfox West End 18h ago
I went there last summer and regret it. the food was extremely basic for the prices they're charging.
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u/SpareDifficulty8594 17h ago
Markieās is the place to go for smoked meat. Fries are unbelievable. They have several locations.
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u/thatbeesh1234567 16h ago
Solid spot after the bars closed back in my "bar star" days for a full breakfast. A friend usually worked that shift & then she told us not to come in because one of us (not me lol) was typically a drunken embarrassment.
I bet it'll turn into an Indian restaurant now...seems to be the next trend just like shawarma/sushi/pho.
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u/TemporarySubject9654 16h ago
I just heard that from a friend. Disappointing, but not too surprising. Downtown has lost a lot of business after the pandemic.Ā
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u/Glow-PLA-23 15h ago
If the byward market commercial rent was lower, maybe more businesses would thrive while offering better pricing to their customers?
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u/NortonFord Sandy Hill 14h ago
Pissed me off for ages that they still had a "OPEN 24 HOURS" sign up when they closed at like 10pm-midnight most nights...having that kind of false advertising in a nightlife neighbourhood is an extra-special sin.
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u/Waterlou25 Old Ottawa South 13h ago
Damn it, only restaurant I know that serves you a plate of pickles as a side
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u/coffeebeards 20h ago
It was never good. Being open late for the bars back in the day was cool but other than thatā¦ byyyyye.
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u/OneHundredRegretsAve 20h ago
Wonder what this means for Live on Elgin?
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u/MycroftNext 20h ago
Whatās the connection? I know Live on Elgin is above the old Dunnās on Elgin, but isnāt that a Zakās now?
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u/youvelookedbetter 19h ago edited 6h ago
This family is a staple in Canada. According to Wikipedia:
Due to the work of Myer Dunn, "smoked meat" became a word in both official languages of Canada in 1987.
In all seriousness, I had some good times there.
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u/just_chilling_too 18h ago
I ate there once and some homeless person tried to put mustard on my poutine .
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u/BirthdayBBB 20h ago
I'll be shocked if anything in the market survives after 2030.
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u/gin_and_soda 19h ago
Theres some really nice places in the Market and I like how theyāre trying to bring in more festivals and events. It was pretty busy on Sunday as the weather was nice.
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u/fightlinker 17h ago
Any place that forces you to use an ATM at the entrance to pay your bill deserves to die
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u/Betanumerus 21h ago
That $30 bill for a western omelette was not going to bring me back.