La Banquise opened in 1968 as a small ice cream shop, shortly after it was transformed into a 24-hour snack bar specializing in hot dogs and legendary fries. Canadian favourite, poutine, first arrived on the menu in the 1980's as a response to repeated customer inquiries. Today Annie, the daughter of the original owner, Mr. Barsalou, has taken over with her partner Marc Latendresse and together they carry on the tradition of quality and maintain the excellent reputation of La Banquise.