In the restaurant world, there’s always new places to see, whether it’s the trendy bistro, the hip wine bar or the fashionable, must-visit “poutinerie.” Then there are businesses like Café Presto, a reassuring place, full of memories that the owner is more than happy to share.
The owner in question is Guerrino Massironi, an affable gentleman who has worked in the restaurant business his whole life. “I’ve worked in Switzerland, England, Germany, Spain – always in palaces,” he boasts. “Here in Montreal, I worked at the Ritz Carlton at Windsor [and] I was the manager for the Holiday Inn at the Expo.” In 1978, he opened a trattoria on Sherbrooke Street, then from ’80 to ’92, he ran a large establishment that saw a host of VIPs walk through its doors, including Jean Drapeau, Robert Bourassa and Celine Dion. Then, when his 50th birthday came around and he grew tired of working days that went on well into the night, Guerrino opened Café Presto in 1992. “This is my baby. It’s my pension fund,” he says, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
