Our journalist wanders around Greater Montreal to talk about people, events and places that make the heart of their neighbourhood beat.
There are nearly 6,000 convenience stores in Quebec. In some remote corners of the province, they are sometimes the only business open. In Montreal, there are many, but some have a distinctive anchor in their neighbourhood. This is the case of Dépanneur Lalime, located on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, where Beaubien Street ends.
By 5 a.m., customers are lining up for breakfast sandwiches that still sell for — incredible, but true! — less than $3.50.
“How many sandwiches are made each day?
— Too much! », jokes Maximilien Lalime.
“Between 200 and 300,” he says more seriously. This is the daily lunch of many police officers, movers and early-rising workers.
“It’s really hard to beat the value,” says the man who grew up in the convenience store. The father of three was paid 25 cents at age 10 to deliver flyers to neighborhood mailboxes and he also did a lot of bike deliveries.
As a young adult, Maximilien Lalime did not expect to join the ranks of the family business. He worked in a haberdashery, but his father offered him better working conditions alongside him.
I’ve always worked with the world… and to work with the world, you have to love the world.
Maximilien Lalime
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
At Lalime, the traffic practically never stops.
A convenience store like no other
Originally, it was a butcher’s shop that his grandfather Gilles Lalime opened in 1959 on the other side of the Handjust a little further north, before moving decades later to 6436, boulevard Saint-Laurent. It was a small neighborhood grocery store that gradually became a convenience store… but not like the others, especially for ready-to-eat meals.
Almost everything is cooked on site, including the iconic pâtés and tourtières – even the one from the Lake – which sell 3,000 per year! A dozen varieties are offered: duck, hare, salmon, etc.
The chairs facing the window allow customers to eat inside, but also members of the “old stove league” to meet, jokes the 38-year-old.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
The chairs facing the window allow you to eat on site or chat with members of the Lalime family.
The latter starts his shift between 3 and 4 in the morning with his father Daniel. His aunt Ginette takes over around noon. Not to mention the employees who must be able to “work for two”.
In 2022, everyone mourned the passing of Patrick Lalime – Maximilien’s uncle – due to cancer. Customers wanted to share their thoughts in a notebook for the man who created the famous “Pat-matin” sandwich and its more decadent version, “Le Pat cochon”.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
The frontage is reminiscent of a dinner.
A loyal clientele
Lalime customers have a strong sense of belonging to their favourite convenience store. In 2012, there was an outcry when a Provi-soir (operated by Couche-Tard and since replaced by a Marché Extra) opened right across the street after the closure of another nearby one whose employees had just unionized. “We had just renovated,” recalls Maximilien. “At first, it was worrying whether it would hurt us, but in the end, it brought us customers.”
The author Sylvain Raymond worked at the time as a creative director for an agency located across from Lalime. Out of good neighborliness and solidarity, he and his colleagues then supported the family in strengthening their brand. Since then, he has been in charge of selling their derivative products, whether bags or caps. “Anything for the Lalime family!” he says.
Sylvain Raymond praises the authenticity of the place. “The prices have remained honest despite inflation. It’s always good, comforting and unpretentious.”
Dépanneur Lalime still offers a delivery service, but only in the morning for people in need. We prioritize almost daily orders from elderly or mobility-impaired customers.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Before hiring Renée Bieman, Daniel Lalime was looking for “a rare pearl”.
Cooked on site
During our visit, Daniel Lalime was at the stove as usual in the small kitchen space of the convenience store with impressive production capacities! “The recipes come from my mother,” he says.
As we interrupt him for a few questions, Daniel asks his son to add liquid and turn off the heat if the vegetables are cooked. “If Maximilien wasn’t here, I’m not sure I’d survive “as much,” he confides.
Running a business like a convenience store requires a lot of work and discipline. Daniel Lalime often tells the same story. When he was young, he played baseball in Repentigny. A tournament was scheduled to take place on a Saturday, when games were usually on weekdays, and his father refused to let him take time off work.
“Here, every employee has enough work for two,” says the 63-year-old, repeating the same words as his son, namely that to love his job, he must “love the world.”