In 2016, Montrealer Nathalie Lavergne won the heart of Brockville thanks to the café she opened right after moving to town. Victim of the pandemic, the establishment of the one who is also a counselor has closed its doors. On the eve of the municipal elections in Ontario, in this municipality of 22,000 inhabitants, the decision to close shop was enough to call into question Nathalie Lavergne’s interest in her community.
It all happened so fast for Mme Lavergne. Sitting in a café, the Quebecer with her arms covered in tattoos explains that she moved in May 2015 into the house which also housed the Spitfire café. In November of the same year, the cafe opened its doors. A year later, Nathalie Lavergne and her husband were crowned entrepreneurs of the year by a regional association, then, in 2017, the café won the title of small business of the year in Brockville.
The Spitfire café, nestled on the first floor of a Victorian residence, has left its mark, argues Nathalie Lavergne. “The energy of the community fueled me,” she says. She and her spouse opted to put on shows, even though they were told it wouldn’t work. “Well, it worked,” says the Quebecer. The Spitfire was a base for touring bands; some slept at the Lavergne’s, above the cafe.
It was at the Spitfire that several candidates for the 2018 municipal elections met. Nathalie Lavergne was one of them. Against all odds – especially her own – the entrepreneur specializing in events was elected as an advisor. On October 24, she will try to obtain a second term at the end of a campaign that clashes with the friendly race of four years ago.
Some residents, she laments, questioned her interest in Brockville because she closed her cafe and moved nearby, out of town. The choice to end the Spitfire adventure was “personal and hard to make”, she says. Comments denouncing her decisions on social networks hit her like a “jab in the stomach”. But if, in the past, she would have needed to justify herself, this is no longer the case today. The pandemic made her understand that she could not put aside her well-being or that of her family.
Rockabilly
Nathalie Lavergne’s professional experience is a long way from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. At the age of 21, she organized her first festival celebrating rockabilly music in Montreal, an event she brought to Eastern Ontario. The 1950s era has “always been a part of me”, she told the To have to in 2008. One thing leading to another, she worked at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, at the Just for Laughs festival, then in Toronto, as part of the preparation for the 2015 Pan American Games.
It was therefore natural for her to continue this momentum in Brockville, where she takes care of the Christmas market and a bridal salon, among other things. The health crisis, on the other hand, caused the ship to be diverted: events had to be canceled, and the Spitfire was unable to welcome customers in person for several months. “I have friends in the event industry who have committed suicide,” says Nathalie Lavergne. This period of forced shutdown led her to change her priorities.
Today, the counselor presents herself as a politician who does not lose sight of her health and that of her family.
In the middle of the campaign, she returned to Montreal to take care of her father, which prevented her from participating in a debate. It would have made her uncomfortable before, she said, but not anymore. Nathalie Lavergne, who lost her mother aged 23, says the pandemic has reiterated the importance of “putting priorities in the right place”.
But is it possible, in a small community, to do politics in a more honest way, asking the community to respect their personal and professional choices? “No,” answers the graduate of the Joseph-François-Perrault secondary school immediately. At the end of the line, a few days later, the Montrealer affirms that she does not want to project a false image. “I don’t want to play game “, she says.
Always passionate
The one who is originally from the Plateau is still inhabited by a passion for Brockville and wishes to continue to develop its downtown area, even if she lives seven minutes outside of town. If she is no longer there, it is not for lack of having tried: she and her husband have made several purchase offers. The Montrealer works from home for the Cancer Research Society. Previously, she tried to find a position in Brockville, again without success.
Despite everything, Nathalie Lavergne does not intend to give up. She still has the coffee machine that ran the Spitfire in her garage. “Would you leave something in Brockville?” Probably,” she says. What would people who criticize her for closing her business think? ” I do not know. Sometimes I would like to do it again just to see their reaction. »
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.