The semi-industrial no man's land between Montreal's Mile End and Parc Extension neighborhoods is home to abandoned, graffitied textile factories, food processing plants and repair shops. With the garment workers gone, it's been largely neglected by most except studio-seeking artists.

But recently, this outpost of the city's manufacturing past has begun to stir with new life. Architects drawn in by the industrial zoning are conceiving hundreds of residential and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design -certified commercial spaces.

Restaurateurs, barkeeps and even a couple of hip barbers have followed. And to the vexation of longtime residents, these changes have given the enclave a new nickname: Mile-Ex.

Dinette Triple Crown: At this vintage takeout counter, Kentucky-born chef Colin Perry conjures familial recipes, turning out bacon-braised pinto beans and Arnold Palmer meringue pie to go with milkshakes from a 1930s machine. Patrons can get their meat-and-three meals loaded into wicker baskets and take them to picnic in a neighboring park. An adjacent dining room is in the works for the chillier months.

6704 rue Clark. 514-272-2617.

Restaurant Mile-Ex: Having embraced the "Mile-Ex" moniker when it opened last year, this cozy bistro of a few communal tables offers seasonal plates inspired by street food and a seafood-heavy menu from 5 to 7 pm. It's best known for its "squid roll", a curled white calamari sheet nestled in a brioche hot dog bun and topped with homemade preserved lemon and Lebanese cucumber relish.

6631 rue Jeanne-Mance. 514-272-7919.

Emporium: Customers in classic Belmont swivel chairs with miniature headrests sip local wine, beer or coffee as they're preened at this old-timey barbershop, which opened in early June. Its owners, specialists in beard and mustache grooming and soothing hangover skin treatments, intend to cultivate their own aloe plants. For now, they import products, like a whiskey shave soap, from Portland General Store in Maine.

283 rue St.-Zotique Ouest. 514-439-0898. Emporiumbarber.com.

Battat Contemporary: The toy magnate Joe Battat's minimalist, white-walled gallery showcases local artists in an old lingerie factory that it inhabits along with a custom bookbinder and a band of ceramicists. A coming solo exhibition, through Oct 26, will be of Montrealer Jean-Francois Lauda's abstract, delightedly imprecise paintings and works on paper.

7245 rue Alexandra. 514-750-9566. Battatcontemporary.com.

Bar Alexandraplatz: This year-old beer-garden-style bar is in a vacant garage strung with white lights and packed with picnic tables. The place is kept stocked by Brasserie BVM, the brewer next door, and shares an owner with Depanneur le Pick Up, a cool corner store-cum-lunch counter blocks away that's arguably the neighborhood's headquarters.

7032 rue Waverly. 514-271-8011. Depanneurlepickup.com.

The New York Times

(China Daily 09/29/2013 page16)