In 2017, nearly 20 kilometers separated the inhabitants of Saint-Donat-de-Rimouski from the closest pint of milk to the village.
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This is now a thing of the past thanks to Maxime Couture-Bouchard and Alexandra Marin-Émond who are contributing to the revitalization of the village with the opening of the only food market in the area, with their eight children.
“I was a week away from giving birth when Maxime told me he wanted to go into business, recalled the mother of the family. Let’s just say I was surprised! Once I gave birth, it didn’t take long for the adventure to begin.”
Maxime had seen a financial opportunity to remedy the difficult situation that persisted, namely having to drive 30 minutes to get to the nearest grocery store. Not to mention the return trip.
For days, the father of the family carefully analyzed the street corner where he thought he would open a market.
He quickly understood that the place he was aiming for was popular, especially with the nearby tourist attractions, including the Parc du Mont-Comi.
Then, in August 2021, with the blessing of his spouse, four years following the closure of the former Éclair market, the doors of the Marché du Coin opened.
Maxime and Alexandra are still the only ones to offer a complete and diversified food service in their village of Bas-Saint-Laurent.
RE-LIGHT THE FLAME
“It’s nice to see young people wanting to rekindle the flame of the village,” says Nathalie Ross, who has lived on the street corner where the new grocery store is located for more than 30 years and who has been a customer from day one.
“They take it to heart. […] Before, I had to travel regarding 15 km to get to the nearest grocery store. Today, I can go there two to three times a week, it’s next door, ”she rejoiced.
For Maxime and Alexandra, the opening of their grocery store was also an opportunity to make local merchants shine.
“We buy local products and we try to highlight the people who produce locally […] we hire people from here, we sell products from here and we resell them to the inhabitants of here,” the two owners proudly recounted.
A CHALLENGE
For them, having a profitable business and eight children to care for is a serious challenge. However, these are two things that they are ready to tie up.
“My dream is for my son to take over, confided Maxime. He is 10 years old and he already puts in a lot of hours at the grocery store. He is already talking to me regarding going back to business one day.”
But the story doesn’t end there: last September, Maxime opened a meat cutting center, Ça coupe ô Max inc., another service that was discreet in the area.
“I have other great projects simmering,” he added, smirking.
