The former owner of the Kelly shoe workshop remains stubborn and signs: If he was forced to close the doors of his company after 84 years of existence, it was because of the introduction of the cycle path on Boulevard Henri-Bourassa.
• Also read: Retailers are disgusted by bike lanes that are hurting their business
• Also read: A retailer blames a bike path for the closure of his shoe repair shop, which he founded in 1939
Host Luc Ferrandez, in his editorial on 98.5 Montréal on Friday, cast doubt on Éric Bussière's statement published last Tuesday on the Journal de Montréal's website.
When the shoemaker became aware of the former mayor of Plateau-Mont-Royal's comments, he reacted quickly.
“Ferrandez speaks through his hat. He did not know the problems surrounding Henri-Bourassa, said Éric Bussière when asked by Le Journal. He doesn’t understand the challenges of small businesses.”
“It’s easy to talk when you’re not a victim of this situation.”
Luc Ferrandez, radio presenter and former mayor of Plateau-Mont-Royal archive photo, MARIO BEAUREGARD
His customers spoke to him daily about the bike path project at this nerve center in Montreal.
“People were discouraged,” he adds. They told me how much it would impact their lives. The delivery people also talked to me about it regularly.
“Ferrandez has always given this kind of speech. We can't ask him to change his mind. He imagines that we live in a beautiful, green society with as few cars as possible.”
Photo Mathieu Boulay
The famous rent
After the article was published on the Journal de Montréal website, several people on social networks mentioned that Bussière did not reveal the real reasons for the closure.
These people particularly cited the increase in their rent and the decline in their sales as the cause.
“I didn’t hide anything,” Bussiere explains. We always had the problems we had with the tenants above us.
“It’s a recurring problem (water damage) that my parents also had when they were homeowners. On the other hand, it wasn't what would cause me to leave my location. You don’t close your business because of bad tenants.”