Gibeau Orange Julep

Gibeau Orange Julep restaurant, at the corner of Paré and Décarie

The Gibeau Orange Julep restaurant (also known colloquially as OJ or The Big Orange) is a roadside attraction and fast food restaurant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.^[1][2] The building is in the shape of a giant orange, three stories high with a diameter of forty feet.

History

The restaurant was started by Hermas Gibeau in the 1932 to serve his trademark orange drink, Gibeau Orange Julep, similar but not identical to that of Orange Julius.^[2][3] In 1945, Gibeau built an orange concrete sphere two stories high to house his restaurant.^[4] It is believed Gibeau intended to live in there with his wife and children.^[5]

The restaurant and its orange sphere was rebuilt larger and further back from the roadway when it was widened as the Décarie Expressway in 1966.^[6] Its shell consists of plastic segments which were ordered from a local pool manufacturer, and the whole building could light up.^[4]

For a time, the Julep was noted for rollerskating waitresses but customers today order food in the more conventional fashion of a fast food restaurant. Rollerblading waiters and waitresses were available as recently as the 2000's. Food can then be taken away or eaten at one of a number of provided picnic tables.^[7] The restaurant operates 24 hours a day during summer and reduced hours in winter.^[8]

Today, it also hosts classic car and motorbike enthusiasts on Wednesday nights from May–August.^[5]

Drink and company

The drink, Gibeau Orange Julep, is now also sold via retail stores.^[9] The company, Gibeau Orange Julep, has had restaurants and drink bottling. The Big Orange was one of several Gibeau Orange Julep restaurants, many shaped like a giant orange, in the Montreal area, but it is the only one remaining.^[10] The original restaurant was on Sherbrooke street, and established in 1928, and was closed and torn down in 2009, was not shaped like a giant orange.^[11][9]

References

1. ^ Musgrave, Sarah (2003). Resto a go-go : 180 cheap and fun places to eat and. Toronto: ECW Press. ISBN 155022560. http://books.google.com/books?id=lyaqVWzGx5wC&pg=PA150&lpg=PA150&dq=Gibeau+Orange+Montreal&source=bl&ots=m_j2R0-DNl&sig=cu6Jor5G86-lc9NPp4hVcrEqgVg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result#PPA150,M1. 
2. ^ ^{a b} The Gazette (Montreal), "A landmark in more ways than one", Bill Brownstein, Wednesday 30 May 2007 (accessed 25 June 2009)
3. ^ Krashinsky, Susan. "Orange Julep". Montreal Magazine. http://montrealmagazine.ca/MM/content/view/144/. Retrieved 2009-02-06. 
4. ^ ^{a b} The Gazette (Montreal), "Architects have long dreamt about The Orange Julep", 15 February 1969, Peter Lanken,
5. ^ ^{a b} Musgrave, Susan (2002). "Great ball of fire". Montreal Mirror. http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/2002/080802/resto.html. Retrieved 2009-02-06. 
6. ^ http://evalweb.cum.qc.ca/Role2007actualise/CompteFoncier.ASP?id_uef=%203005112
7. ^ XPress (Ottawa), "Bits and Bites", Peter Horowitz, 19 April 2007 (accessed 25 June 2009)
8. ^ federal-realestate.com : MONTREAL 24 HOUR PLACES (accessed 25 June 2009)
9. ^ ^{a b} (French) http://www.orangejulep.com/html_f/history.htm (accessed 2011-09-23)
10. ^ Fast Food Fred, "Gibeau Orange Julep", 15 March 2010 (accessed 2011-09-23)
11. ^ (French) Montreal Express, "Orange Julep, la fin d’une époque", Philippe Beauchemin, 30 July 2009 (accessed 2011-09-23)

• The Gazette (Montreal), "A landmark in more ways than one", Bill Brownstein, Wednesday 30 May 2007 (accessed 25 June 2009)

External links

• Gibeau Orange Julep
• H Gibeau Orange Julep Inc on HiHenry.com
• Photos of the Julep on Flickr
• The Gibeau Orange Julep at reviewguys.com
• The Big Orange at roadtripamerica.com

Coordinates: 45°29′45″N 73°39′24″W / 45.4957°N 73.6568°W / 45.4957; -73.6568