Hi Marco, how are you? Marco, did you hear that? Did you know that… ?
Posted October 23
Marco Miserendino, or “Marco Bijoux” for his friends, co-owner (with his sister Paola) of the luxurious Italian Jewelery, located rue Saint-Zotique, corner of Gaspé, in the heart of Little Italy, cannot take two steps in the neighborhood without an apostrophe.
Not to tell him about Rolex, though. Or the latest Gucci products. But rather down-to-earth issues. Archi practical-practices.
From parking problems to security issues, bickering between traders or pipe breaks, it is often in him that we confide. For good reason: he is on all the committees, all the associations and other groups of merchants (in addition to being on the Board of Directors of the SDC Little Italy). Less known to the general public than Stefano Faita, of course, the chic jeweler nevertheless, understandably, has several precious contacts up his sleeve. And on the field, everyone knows it.
It is “punctually” that we confide in him, corrects the man, met earlier this fall, who does not want to pass for the guy who “fights his braces” that he is not. In fact, he simply has his neighborhood at heart, he nuances. A neighborhood where he was born, where his father landed fresh from Italy (at the time when it was “the cheapest neighborhood to live in!”), to settle there (more than 60 years ago now ) a small watchmaking workshop. Let’s say that the family business (born diagonally from its current address, and taken over by Marco and his sister in the 1990s) turned out rather well.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Marco Miserendino goes around the cafes every morning.
I have a sense of duty. Who has nurtured the business all these years? It’s the community, and it has needs.
Marco Miserendino, co-owner of Italian Jewelry
From the outside, Marco Miserendino looks like a successful businessman. And it is a fact. Clean-shaven, his hair slicked back in place, with his fitted suit, he could go almost unnoticed in Little Italy. Except no. Because everyone knows him here, we said so. And it seems.
As proof: at the café across the street, at the Panino Pazzo, where Marco has his habits, the owner quite simply gave us his cell number, from memory, to boot.
“In the neighborhood, they all have my cell number! “laughs the main interested party. But beware. “This is not a popularity contest! “, insists our man. “I love it, this neighborhood! And that too, it seems.
I’m proud to say that I come from a beautiful neighborhood, a jewel of Montreal, of North America, I’m proud of that, but for it to continue, we have to lay the foundations! It doesn’t happen by itself!
Marco Miserendino, co-owner of Italian Jewelry
So, every morning, Marco makes the rounds of the cafes, and God knows if there are any (“in a day, I drink five to ten!”, he says, but don’t tell his doctor!): Caffè Italia, San Gennaro, San Simeon, and other Conca d’Oro, he doesn’t miss a single one. “I tour the Grand Dukes, he smiles, I am interested in people, in the life of the community. And in doing so, he learns all the small and big stories of the neighborhood. What works, and what does not.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Marco Miserendino, at Panino Pazzo, in front of his jewelry store.
Rebelote at lunchtime, where he sometimes goes to Lucca, the Bottega or the Gema Pizzeria — “and everyone comes to see me: did you hear that? »
“But I’m not a movie star,” he repeats. I know the people in the neighborhood and I’m interested in them. That’s all ! »
That’s all ? “Little Italy is something unique,” he concludes. There is a village culture where everyone knows each other. Not just me. Between them ! There is a concern for the other. Of the neighbor. […] A feeling of closeness. […] I work from nine to five, but I have a friend in front, […] I enjoy coming here, working here, living here. And that is not given to all neighborhoods. There is something about this neighborhood that allows for a balance between work and life. And… it’s magic! »
And it keeps up…