2023-08-19 09:00:00
The commercial district of the small town of 9,000 people had become very quiet until this year, when empty premises are now becoming increasingly rare. Restaurants, shops, services, a wind of change is blowing on Child and Main streets.
For Julie Favreau, General Manager of Rues Principales Coaticook, this sudden interest in the city center testifies, among other things, to many years of efforts by the paramunicipal organization she heads to beautify the sector.
According to Ms. Favreau, the wave of business and restaurant closings during the pandemic was not a sign that the location was not suitable. She believes the rules associated with the pandemic have precipitated closures. “There are a lot of retirements in the lot. Were they closing because it wasn’t profitable, or rather because they were there in their lifetime? Has the pandemic rushed things a bit? Maybe…”, she raises.
Constraints related to perishable foodstuffs, labor shortages, restaurants in particular have experienced critical challenges, adds Ms. Favreau. “It’s not because the customers are not there, we are even still looking for a restaurant for lunch, the market is there. »
In 15 years at the helm of Rues Principales Coaticook, Julie Favreau has also noticed that the economic vitality is experiencing waves, and that this is not the first that she has seen pass.
When businesses closed their doors, she says that we had to be creative to maintain services in Coaticook. “We went to ring the doors of businesses that might take over part of the supply. The middle has rolled up its sleeves. Now, at Home Hardware, for example, we sell furniture and appliances.”
Jean-Pierre Lefebvre, the owner of Place JR Lefebvre, works excessively hard to fill his commercial spaces. “We all approach businesses. We throw lines in the water, we meet promoters… it’s long-term work. »
Julie Favreau adds that “it hurts when it closes, but it creates space for something new”. The director of Rues Principales Coaticook does not imagine attracting large chains to her municipality of just over 9,000 inhabitants, but believes that it is necessary to bet on smaller banners or independent businesses. “The population would have to double, triple, even quadruple, so that we can get a Canadian Tire or to attract a Walmart. But we have the possibility of having something else, a bit of everything. »
Efforts that bear fruit
More than a dozen new businesses, services and restaurants have opened in Coaticook in recent months. “We are really pleased to see the diversity,” underlines Julie Favreau.
“It’s the contribution of Rues Principales Coaticook, Tourisme Coaticook, the MRC, it’s also the work we all do by praising the living environment, promoting the environment… with the addition of all effort produces results,” she continues.
The downtown area, which had a facelift in 2013 with the paving of rue Child, has also been the subject of a revitalization program since 2008. “There has been an effort to revitalize the facades of businesses. There are 72 facades restored since 2008, it has a major impact,” says Ms. Favreau. According to her, the beauty of the place counts a lot to attract both traders and visitors.
They chose Coaticook
The Panache drinks and delicacies opened its doors in the Les Perles de l’Estrie shopping center during the pandemic. Catherine Foucher and Kelly Leblond are co-owners. “I had already opened a take-out drink shop during the pandemic and I wanted to adjust to the demand of customers who wanted to have something to eat,” says Catherine Foucher. The juice bar, low-sugar drinks and energizing teas named Velou-Thé then changed its name to Le Panache drinks and delicacies and officially opened its doors in April, with an improved offer of various pastries.
On Main Street, two businesses share the same premises. Thé et Bulles chez Daisy, a shop specializing in bubble tea and exotic sweets, welcomes lovers of curiosities. “We are very close to the youth centre,” emphasize owners Jessie Fletcher and Marilyne Tremblay. Particularly sensitive to tiktok trends, they have in store, in addition to their sweets, pickles, ramen noodles and also make locally roasted coffees.
At the back of the room, a curtain hides the entrance to a second store, the Chez Porky boutique. Owned by Jessie Fletcher since 2022, the business formerly located in Compton specializes in articles for smokers and vapers as well as in erotic products. “We didn’t have that in the region and I wanted to democratize the cannabis industry. We have an SQDC in Coaticook, it’s good that we can talk regarding cannabis. »
The Porky sign was inspired by an animal that Jessie Fletcher knew well: “My boyfriend and I live on a pig farm, and it was a little pig with red eyes who gave us the idea for our logo “, she says. Jessie Fletcher and Maryline Tremblay assure that business has been going well since opening in July and that their association makes it possible to amortize the rental costs and start on a small scale.
On Child Street, the Loleries opened in October 2022. The art, gift, decoration and lifestyle boutique owned by Laurence Trudel, an artist herself, smells good even in the street. The place also serves as a workshop. Soaps, stained glass, macrame, pottery, jewellery, caramels, all Quebec products are extremely varied. “I was making a mess at my house and it worked. So when I saw the space for rent, I said to myself that it was for me who dreamed of having a shop,” she says.
Laurence Trudel is pleasantly surprised by the response from customers to her new business. “I thought there would be more tourists, but in the end it’s really the local people who encourage me. Laurence Trudel develops partnerships with artists from the region to develop unique products and gives classes and workshops. It highlights the solidarity between merchants in the city center, while each refers its customers to others.
After the closure of the Korvette store at Place JR Lefebvre in 2022, the vacant space was taken over by Maison en Gros in March 2023. Owned by Hart stores, the chain of decoration, furniture and home accessories is experiencing a good success, according to its manager Lyne Leduc. She and most of her team previously worked at Korvette. “We have a different clientele, but it works. There is a nice novelty effect that attracts people from the surrounding villages,” she points out. She adds that with the opening of many businesses in Coaticook, she notices that her business is also more and more alive.
The women’s clothing store Marise risked a lot by opening in April 2022, in the heart of the pandemic, while the closures added up around. The team had to be creative to publicize the company located on the second floor of Place JR Lefebvre. Billboards at street level, radio launch, calls to customers “We have to show that we are there, but from the start, I have believed in it,” says manager Valérie Martiaux. According to her, the efforts are paying off. “It’s moving in the right direction. And now, everything is rented in the sector. We needed that. »
Meg-Ann Côté owns a small restaurant called Lilas & Aïoli on Child Street. On the wall stands the old sign of O’Bagels, in memory of its predecessors who closed their doors before giving way to it. Inspired by her mother’s favorite flower and a garlic mayonnaise, the name of the business reflects the variety of what the restaurateur serves. “I make traditional breakfasts, homemade pastries, sandwiches and I have a lunch menu,” says the one who grew up in Coaticook and opened her restaurant last December.
On Main Street, an antique shop has just opened. Outside, a few items at the door serve as a welcome. No poster, no name yet for a barely nascent business, but the antique dealer Jose Maria Garcia does not take offense. Between a few anecdotes regarding his past as a toreador and a bizarre story regarding one of his articles, he affirms that he did not find the place to open his shop, that it was the place that found him, him. He underlines the exceptional contact with his clients which makes his days memorable.
Game space and shop selling consoles, board games, scale models and many other entertainment products, the Taverne du gamer located on Child Street is the property of the two brothers Simon and Vincent Proulx. These opened in March, and they have had another service point in Stanstead since 2020. “Our store represents us a lot. Why a tavern? We don’t serve alcohol here. We use the term to designate a gathering place,” says Vincent Proulx. The Beyblade top tournaments, which attract both young people and adults, are particularly unifying, say the two brothers who chose Coaticook for its slightly higher attendance than Stanstead.
At the counter of the Rôtisserie Charlie Coq, the menus are displayed on screens, like in the big roast chicken chains. Owner Charles-Philippe Massé, of Magog, seized the opportunity to open his restaurant during the wave of closures. “It was an opportunity, there was room, it fills a demand. Chicken is a bit of a hit with everyone and people are getting back into the habit of going to restaurants,” he believes. Business has been good since it opened in April, so he is considering opening a second restaurant elsewhere.
At the Galeries des Cantons, a new restaurant appeared in April. This is Mr. Chef, who replaced the Asian buffet that occupied the premises before. The restaurant keeps an Asian specialty with new owners, but this time, the service is at the tables. Manager Jing Xu believes that her restaurant still has a long way to go in the hearts of Coaticookois. “You have to give them time to try new products, there aren’t many Asian restaurants around here,” she says, confident that the dishes of her chef, Chimig Lai, will appeal to those who come. to try them.
Back on Child Street, the three sisters Verushchka Vera, Lissa Gustave and Maria Vera opened the CAAZ art gallery in October. They hold works by artists from all over the world as well as crafts, including the knitwear of their mother Angela Gonzalez. What made them choose Coaticook to open their gallery? “It was so beautiful, the architecture, the atmosphere, we fell in love! said Maria Vera, specifying that the three partners come from Stanstead.
The 4th location is a barbershop opened by Simon Champagne. The demand is such that he thinks of hiring to be able to answer the calls. “It’s only been open for four months and I’m always full. I would like to work with two chairs”, says the one who hopes to find a second competent barber. According to Simon Champagne, word of mouth and the launch of his business were enough to fill his waiting lists. “My clients went to Sherbrooke. »
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