So-called “specialty” coffees sometimes have the reputation of being elitist and exclusive, particularly in neighborhoods affected by gentrification. In fact, the opening of one or more of these cafes is often one of the most obvious signs of gentrification in a neighborhood.
A Harvard University study revealed in 2018 that the opening of a Starbucks coffee shop in a neighborhood was generally accompanied by an increase of at least 0.5% in the price of houses and apartments.
Hélène Bélanger, professor in the department of urban and tourism studies at UQAM, took an interest in the question.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Professor in the Department of Urban and Tourism Studies at UQAM, Hélène Bélanger is very interested in the question of the gentrification of neighborhoods.
There are many studies on the link between gentrification and cafes. There has even been talk in the United States of starbuckization or of gentrification by cappuccino ! That said, it’s hard to know what comes before: gentrification or cafes?
Hélène Bélanger, professor in the Department of Urban and Tourism Studies at UQAM
More significant than the presence of cafes, it is that of their clientele that is decisive. If other types of businesses such as wine bars, delicatessens, barbers and florists have also been associated with the phenomenon, cafes have a special place because of their very strong link with this “creative class” whose arrival is often defined as the starting point of a neighborhood’s gentrification process.
Whether they are artists, intellectuals, students or members of this new category of workers associated with new technologies, not necessarily very rich, but generally educated, these “newcomers” are, despite themselves, “gentrifiers”.
We associate gentrification with developers, but it can also be six students who get together to occupy the former home of a family of workers.
Gilles Sénécal, co-author of a report on the gentrification of central Montreal neighborhoods
These new occupants have different tastes and contribute to the creation of an urban environment woven of places with a cultural vocation, services and varied businesses.
Often more expensive – this is the case with specialty coffees – these businesses do not necessarily reach older populations, the most vulnerable households in particular, hence defensive reactions, even aggressive ones.
Exclusion cycles
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
In 2015, the original Café Saint-Henri, in the Saint-Henri district, was almost forced to move in the face of rising rents.
“Coffee is a bit like a ‘Trojan horse’,” says Gilles Sénécal, honorary professor at INRS. “It’s a meeting and work place for these new occupants and it exerts, with other businesses of the same type, a power of attraction on future occupants who have the same tastes. On the other hand, ancient populations are excluded. »
Inscribed in the cycles of displacement of populations in the urban environment, the processes of gentrification are not uniform and they include several phases. It is however obvious that they can lead to the replacement of part of the original population, if only symbolically, the older inhabitants becoming “invisible”.
Ironically, the process can also affect even the first “gentrifiers”, who end up falling victim to rising costs, a phenomenon called “super-gentrification”. “It’s also true commercially,” explains Hélène Bélanger. Gentrification leads to often skyrocketing commercial rents. »
“A few years ago, the original premises of Café Saint-Henri, which had been an important factor in the gentrification of this sector of Saint-Henri, suffered a sharp increase in rent and its owner had to consider moving. Fortunately, a compromise was found in this case, but many other cafes and businesses, in Saint-Henri and in other areas of Montreal, were not so lucky. »
“Tourists of their own life”
Just as relentless as “super-gentrification”, “touristification” has become an issue in the revitalization of central Montreal neighborhoods.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Maestria Condos, a huge project that stands on rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, between rue Jeanne-Mance and rue De Bleury, is a convincing example of the phenomenon of “touristification”.
In an article co-authored with her colleague Dominic Lapointe, Hélène Bélanger highlights the appearance of a new phenomenon, more specifically in the Quartier des spectacles: the hyper-commodification of urban life in often spectacular new constructions.
The idea is really to create a very attractive tourist environment, with in particular many cultural activities and top-of-the-range services. Focused on luxury and the multiplication of services, as if the residents were at the hotel, as if they were the tourists of their own lives.
Hélène Bélanger, professor in the Department of Urban and Tourism Studies at UQAM
These projects, which can also be guessed at in Griffintown or in historic neighborhoods such as Old Montreal or Old Quebec, seek to attract wealthier workers and residents, but also private investors and tourists (by renting short term of the Airbnb type).
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
The large-scale Laurent & Clark project has two towers of 360 apartments each.
A priori, specialty coffees are part of the services expected by these customers. The famous Pikolo café has left its picturesque premises on avenue du Parc to settle on the ground floor of one of the flagship real estate projects in the Quartier des Spectacles, Laurent & Clark, consisting of two towers of 360 dwellings each.
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PHOTO NINON PEDNAULT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Pikolo, in 2014, in its original location on Parc Avenue
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PHOTO FROM THE PIKOLO ESPRESSO BAR FACEBOOK PAGE
Since August 2022, Pikolo has moved to the corner of Clark and Ontario streets, where the Laurent & Clark luxury real estate project is located.
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However, we can wonder about the future. In London or New York, two cities where we have observed the process of “touristification”, if the quality independent cafés first benefited from the arrival of a new clientele, they quickly came to grips with the rise rents and competition from chains.
And most independent cafés, with their bare premises, the industrial style of the decoration, the conviviality of the workspaces and their ethical values, do not necessarily have the characteristics sought by a clientele in search of luxury.