“Cirque du Soleil has always been very positive for us,” admits Poivre Noir owner Émilie Poulin.
Although summer is already a good time of year for her renowned venue, she is aware that the presence of Cirque du Soleil in the city is felt year after year.
“We’re even changing our opening hours to 5pm instead of 5:30pm to accommodate more customers because we have a good rush going to the Cirque. And we feel it especially on Wednesdays and Thursdays, when 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. are not usually very popular hours,” she points out.
Since last year, Ms. Poulin has also owned Frangine, which is more like a canteen, right next door on the terrace of the harbor park.
Even if, according to the company, it has been more difficult to recruit in recent years, “we all have our employees”. In addition, young students came to work in Frangine again this year.
“We have a bit more CV. We have students from the study program chef, restaurant management. “We have an Italian in our kitchen,” she says with pleasure.
At Le Bette restaurant, co-owner Jo-Annie St-Amand can also count on a full team to sample her tapas for Cirque du Soleil viewers who head to Badeaux.
“Generally, this type of show in the amphitheater takes people all over downtown. We like it, we are very satisfied,” she says.
It has been in operation for two years and can appreciate the impact of this annual show. “Generally, more are reserved,” says the person whose restaurant is open Wednesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and on weekends for brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The owner of Brunch on Rue des Forges, Vanessa Côté-Racicot, also confirms that “the Cirque du Soleil has a good effect”.
“In the morning there is a boom. And during the season we are also open in the evenings. We have a lot of reservations from day one of the circus,” she says.
Unlike the pandemic years, when workers were eligible for the CERB, the businesswoman has no trouble recruiting. “We are right this year, we have all our employees. The cost of living has gone up and the world now has to work more,” says Ms. Côté-Racicot.
As for Le Brasier 1908 resto-bar, co-owner Yves Beaudoin can see the difference in his sales when Cirque du Soleil arrives.
“From mid-July to mid-September we feel a heavy traffic associated with the circus performances and the great musical performances in the amphitheater,” he testifies.
And the effect of Cirque du Soleil is not only noticeable in sales, but also in customer behavior, he says.
“People come to eat a little earlier so they can often walk to the amphitheater, which our beautiful downtown area makes very easy for,” says Mr. Beaudoin.
However, the latter does not hide the fact that Le Brasier takes advantage of too cold or too hot temperatures and people leave the terraces in favor of the restaurant.
“We are open mornings and evenings seven days a week. During the week we go there in a group at noon. However, the people of Cirque du Soleil do two things: They eat dinner and have breakfast the next morning. “I was completely responsive to their needs,” says the one who already sees an increase in reservations.
His other restaurant, Le Gaufré 1908, which opened last year at the Oui GO! hotel, attracts people who go downtown and is also open to the general public.
“We have just completed our first year and June will have been our busiest month. We drive almost at full capacity. Since there are only about thirty places I recommend people to book. It’s a lunch-dinner formula,” adds Mr Beaudoin.
“The nice thing about my two restaurants is that I live to the rhythm of the hotels, which are busy and the two restaurants attract a lot of customers from Trois-Rivières,” he adds.
And the staff? “The reality in the hospitality industry is that we are still in recruitment mode but we are managing to cope with the situation,” concluded Mr Beaudoin.