Pointe-Saint-Charles | The rebirth of a neighborhood

Lots of businesses are opening on rue du Center, in Pointe-Saint-Charles. Is this a manifestation of economic recovery? No ! It is the symbol of the rebirth of a neighborhood.

Suzanne Colpron
Press

New brands

On its own, this commercial artery, which first appeared on a map of Montreal in 1861, symbolizes the economic recovery in a neighborhood where the spirit of solidarity reigns. It stretches for a little less than a kilometer between Charlevoix and Shearer streets, about ten minutes walk from the Atwater market. Its name, to which the article “of” was added in 2001, refers to its location in Pointe-Saint-Charles. On one side, the Lachine Canal. On the other, the railway.

In this street that is both commercial, residential and institutional, there are a host of recently opened shops: Fleuriste Monarque, Spicebros, Station Berlin, P-23 Dumplings-The Point, Sep Lai, L’Avant Goût and Ton-quartier, for name only those. There are trendy cafes and world cuisine restaurants, high-end chocolates, grocery stores offering local products, but also an old tavern, La Chic régal, opened in 1928, a century-old family hardware store, a mosque, a low-cost second-hand store and community organizations, including Mission Grand Berger, which provides hot meals to those in need.

In short, there is everything. And above all, not everything can be explained by gentrification and the invasion of the well-to-do, but rather by a coexistence that seems harmonious between the popular traditions of the neighborhood and the arrival of new clienteles.

A tightly woven neighborhood

“What I love here is the mix of people,” says city councilor Craig Sauvé, elected and re-elected in this district since 2013 under the colors of Projet Montréal, walking the street with Press.

“It’s a tightly knit community. The community network is extremely strong. The community clinic is still open at La Pointe. It is the only community clinic, as far as I know, in Quebec, which has survived, ”he adds in front of the Bengal Market, where you can find products from Bangladesh, South Asia, Africa and South America.

“Everyone mixes”

A little further, the popular Clarke Café serves Italian coffee, sandwiches and desserts, next to Dollarama. Then, separated by a few residential buildings, there is the Florence Café, opened in 2019, and the Lecavalier Petrone chocolate factory, one of the best in town.

“It works really well,” assures Kevin Rosa, co-owner of the Florence Café. “It’s called Florence because we make our own gelato. Florence is where gelato was invented. And it can be said well in French and English. ”

What does he like about rue du Center? “People,” he replies. They really support us. I like the diversity. There are young, old, people who have always lived in the neighborhood, other people who have just arrived. And everyone gets mixed up. ”

A spirit of solidarity

This is also what Natassia Marier observes, co-owner of Sep Lai, a Laotian restaurant opened in June in the premises of the former Machiavelli restaurant, at the corner of rue Charlevoix.

“There is a sense of community,” she describes. People really know each other a lot here. All the businesses on the street know each other and encourage each other. An example: there is a florist down the street called Fleuriste Monarque. The owner started here. She did flower pop-ups during the pandemic, and she gained enough customers to open her store. ”

According to councilor Craig Sauvé, several of the businesses on rue du Center, old or new, are operated by people from the neighborhood. “Often, it is people from the Pointe who want to invest in the Pointe,” he emphasizes.

Local products

This is the case with Claire Zadrozynski, her husband Mehdi Smail and their partner Jérémie Courtemanche, who opened the L’Avant Goût grocery store on October 30. The concept: fresh and local products. Bread is delivered daily by bicycle from the Louise bakery. Fruits and vegetables come from the Central market, three times a week. Meats, cheeses, hygiene products and wines are all Quebecois.

“We really try to work with small local producers, to be there for customers, and to respond to demand as we go,” says Claire Zadrozynski, nurse by training, who has lived in Pointe-Saint-Charles since. 2014. Her husband, a sommelier, lost his job with the pandemic.

“There was no neighborhood life, no real shops, no SAQ. No life at all, explains Medhi Smail. We faced this problem as residents of Pointe-Saint-Charles. ”

Mr. Hurteau

The 2000 sq. Ft. Room² they rent, between Laprairie and Island streets, had been unused for several years when they undertook a complete renovation eight months ago. The African grocery store opened there had closed its doors following a fire. The current owners, however, made an interesting discovery: the previous business was also a grocery store, run for over 60 years by the Hurteau family.

“One day, a young man came home and told me that in his close family, his wife’s great-grandfather had a grocery store here, in 1920. It was called the Saint-Charles market, says Mehdi Smail. In fact, this gentleman is still alive. He’s 100 years old. And for his 100th birthday he came here. It was very emotional because there was a transition between this gentleman we did not know, who is from another generation, and us. At one point, we all had red eyes. It was really touching. ”