In Montreal, journalist Louis-Philippe Messier is mostly on the run, with his desk in his backpack, looking for fascinating topics and people. In this city chronicle he speaks to everyone and is interested in all areas of life.
The opulent stretch of Laurier Avenue West is emerging from a difficult situation after years of disruptive work followed by the debilitating pandemic. This street, half in Outremont and half in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, is experiencing a renaissance with new, original shops. I looked at this optimism, which almost everywhere contrasts with the gloomy surroundings.
Laurier Ouest's big mistake: it's difficult to walk in front of the windows of clothing stores like Philippe Dubuc, Michel Brisson or École de Pension without saying to yourself: “Yes, I should really start making more money.” Money! “
It's the kind of street where when you enter a dentist's office you notice a grand piano in the anteroom (this is the case with Les Dentistes d'Outremont).
The great quality of Laurier Ouest is its almost purely local character. There are pretty much only independents here. Are you looking for the owner? He's usually there, at the store, working.
From what I've seen, Première Moisson and Columbus Café & Co are the only chains on Laurier between Côte-Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Laurent.
During a walk, Gabriel Dallaire, general director of the Société de développement Commercial de Laurier Ouest, shows me the few empty rooms to tell me what will soon be installed there.
“A well-known company is moving its headquarters here, but I can’t tell you which one, it’s a secret.”
In front of a building with boarded up windows, Mr. Dallaire announces to me: “This spring a restaurant will open that will occupy all three floors!”
To have a coffee, we cross the street and enter the Pâtisserie Mélilot, open since July, which offers incredibly aesthetic pastries, creations of the young pastry chef Aurélien Kerzerho.
Louis Philippe Messier
“We use sweet clover, a native plant, to replace the vanilla imported from far away,” explains Clémence Corbier, 25, one of the owners.
I try a kind of flavor ball that sits on a lemon cake base and contains a haskap compote surrounded by ganache.
A few meters away, the beauty and personal care boutique clinic Les Bains de Cléopâtre moved its business and family from Saint-Sauveur to Avenue Laurier West last summer.
“My son goes to school next door and I already feel at home!” says Élisabeth Houde, who describes some of her flagship products to me… like high-quality aromatic candles, including one with perfumed lipstick.
“My customers often come from far away and buy a lot every time they visit.”
The disarming and verbose Élisabeth Houde moved her boutique Les Bains de Cléopâtre from Saint-Sauveur to Laurier Ouest last summer. Louis Philippe Messier
Another new address: MUZ, a souvenir shop that has been languishing in the shade on Atateken Street in Center-Sud for a year. His business was booming when he arrived on the street this fall, which was more in keeping with his offering of extravagant, chic decorative items, including “vegan” cardboard moose heads to decorate his living room.
“Vegan” moose heads are among the curiosities offered in the MUZ boutique. Louis Philippe Messier
“If we sell something here, it's because we have exclusivity, that makes it interesting to visit us, it can't be found elsewhere,” says Coco, the daughter of the owner Nathalie. Collar.
Coco, the daughter of the owner of the MUZ boutique, holds a Mouchkine pillow. Louis Philippe Messier
Near the corner of Saint-Laurent, the famous brasserie Dieu du Ciel was remodeled, doubling its space by adding onto the building next door that housed the Laurier Dental Spa and the decorative hardware store Par le hole de la key…the moved to larger premises elsewhere in Laurier West.
“I want Laurier West to be Montreal's 5th Avenue!” Ambitions Mr. Dallaire.
“If you really want to feel the pulse of Laurier Ouest, you have to come in the evening, with the restaurants and bars!” he said.
Something tells me I'll be back here for another off-road column soon.