Pandemic. e-commerce and megacenters. Inflation. Shortage labor. The shocks traumatic are not lacking for the shopping streets of the Quebec. This summer, The duty evaluate so in ambulatory mode the resilience of some of them. First walk: the Grande Allée, in the national capital.
After the difficult pandemic hiatus, the Grande Allée once again reigns supreme in Quebec City’s nightlife. Street of life, celebration and good times in the national capital, the emblematic artery of the city once again beats to the rhythm of dinners with colleagues, happy hours with friends and wild weekends. The COVID had silenced his music: here it is alive again, although slowed down by the shortage of manpower.
It’s June 24, and the Grande Allée has pulled out its big day clothes. The fleur-de-lys banners that line it don’t lie: the street is making a comeback for festive events, which are also making a comeback after a two-year absence.
The walk begins at the corner of Artigny and Grande Allée, where the emblematic Château Laurier celebrates its alabaster wedding anniversary with Quebec. People come and go through the large doors of the hotel built in 1947 and owned for three generations by the Girard family.
The ear sneaks up on a few snatches of conversations stolen from passers-by. A bit of Spanish. Parisian verlan. A few English words. A lot, above all, of “Happy Saint John!” » very Quebecois. Accents from elsewhere had been rare for two years: now the Grande Allée, “Champs-Élysées de Québec”, is back with its usual parade from all over the world.
Slowed down by shortage
On the other side of the street, the terrace of the Grand Café is open—and almost full. “The traffic is going very well. We really do very good business,” says Christopher Chouinard, the owner of the establishment.
There is a flip side to this golden medal, he notes, however. “Unemployment is at 2.7% in Quebec. We are missing people all the time, ”said Mr. Chouinard, who says he is working hard to fill his schedules with cheese, that is to say full of holes.
Some businesses have to close one day a week to give their staff a break. “I’ve never seen that,” says the owner of the Grand Café. Several restaurateurs also sacrifice the lunch service, observes Mr. Chouinard, for lack of manpower.
“Last year, there were queues in front of convenience stores in the morning. People were buying chips and chocolate palettes for lunch! the boss is still surprised. The shortage does not just slow down the Grande Allée. It slows down the entire city of Quebec. »
Rebirth on the dance floor
The pandemic will not have caused a slaughter in the artery, since only two brands – Starbucks and the Cosmos restaurant – have decided to leave it since 2019. The institutions remain: here, the Auberge Louis-Hébert and its clientele of parliamentarians, there, the Voûtes Napoléon and its regular singers, both rooted on the Grande Allée like the great century-old American elms that line it and provide canopies of greenery to passers-by.
At the very end of the street stand the Dagobert and its characteristic turrets, the flagship of the dance floors in the capital. Nest of the night owls, the “Dag”, as it is called by friends, remains one of the last nightclubs in Quebec City – and revelers have been storming the bastion since the bars reopened.
“It’s extremely good at the moment, rejoices the owner, Jean-Frédéric Laberge. We reach young people who turned 18 during the pandemic, who have never experienced it and who want to celebrate. »
The need to wiggle, after two years of intermittent confinement, visibly itches the youth. “The queues start at 9 p.m. in front of the door — which only opens at 10 p.m.,” notes Mr. Laberge. For us, it’s really a record start to the year. »
New life
The traffic just next to the Dagobert confirms it: the Grande Allée is bustling with good business in the early days of summer. The Ophelia restaurant and the L’Atelier bistro welcome a varied clientele, who come to relax on the terrace. “There are locals, tourists, congress participants,” says Jonathan Ollat, co-owner of the two establishments and president of Action promotion Grande Allée. The clientele we welcomed in 2019 has finally returned. »
He too expects 2022 to mark a popularity record for the street. “No matter what day of the week, you know there’s always something going on on Grande Allée,” he says. The people who trade on the street form a generally tight-knit community. “Most merchants also own their building,” he explains. They frequent their establishments, and almost everyone knows each other by name. It forms a community that helps each other and has the vitality of the street at heart. »
The return to “normal” brings a new breath to the artery. The building that once housed Le Maurice, a former nightclub in search of a vocation since its closure in 2019, is preparing to house a restaurant and a boutique hotel, confirms Mr. Ollat. The Édouard-Lacroix house, abandoned since the closure of McDonald’s in 2015, is in the process of housing rental apartments for short stays.
“I think there is a revival on Grande Allée,” says Vincent Trudel, one of the promoters of this latest project. There will always be Château Lauriers of this world here, but the street is also beginning to modernize and adapt its tourist offer. »
A street in need
The most emblematic street in Quebec, lined with English mansions erected from the 18th centurye century, owes its current appearance to epidemics. Wealthy people, weary of the peril caused by fires and disease inside the crowded walls of the Old City, set out to get some fresh air along what was, then, a mere country lane. The erection of Parliament, completed in 1886, confirmed the prestige of the street with its Victorian beauty.
The busiest time of the year is approaching for Grande Allée. In a few days, hundreds of thousands of festival-goers will be parading on the street on the sidelines of the FEQ, the Summer Festival which is returning to its stages in downtown Quebec City after two years of hiatus. The crowd looks strong, apprehension too.
“With the lack of manpower, there are things that will not be possible, sighs Christopher Chouinard, of the Grand Café. The kitchen will not stay open until 1am like in previous years. »
“We will not be able to accommodate as many tourists as we would like, also deplores Jonathan Ollat, of Action promotion Grande Allée. We have to let our teams rest. »
The beauty of the night comes back to life, but a little calmer. Accustomed to partying, but lacking in manpower, the Grande Allée must now tame, against its will, forced rest.