On September 5, Geneviève Savard and Jean-François Cossette announced the closure of the Notre Dame market after eight years of operation. Three months later, the space came back to life with the couple's new project: the café-boutique Rosette.
Regulars of the defunct Marché Notre-Dame will find coffee and plants there, which were also the trademark of the place.
“We already had this project in mind when we closed the Notre Dame market. The Marchamps public market project had been announced and we saw that we had virtually the same mission in the same district. In addition, running a grocery store was a significant workload and with two small children it became complicated,” points out Geneviève Savard, co-owner of Rosette.
“We own the space and didn’t want it to be empty,” she adds. We already had a sub-company with Rosette. We already had a large selection of plants on the market. The grocery store is a small project that we have been toying with, but I for one have always had an interest in gastronomy. And when I met Jean-François, it was already his dream to open a café. So for us it was just a logical progression. »
In addition to the on-site coffee and menu, the boutique café offers a selection of houseplants and accessories. The couple would also like to further develop a catering service area.
“We've done it a little bit, but we've never had the time to develop it and come out with a menu. “We did this mainly at the request of the customer,” explains Geneviève Savard. We are very happy that we can now concentrate more on the food. I also love cooking. Since we also keep our nursery in Saint-Maurice, we can continue to cook our vegetables. During the summer we will continue to be a drop-off point for our vegetable baskets. »
A new creative space
The Rosette café-boutique has also set up a space where creative and collaborative workshops can take place in collaboration with the Le 507 cooperative. The room will be equipped with equipment for practicing and teaching screen printing, printing and any other printing technique. two-dimensional art.
The workshop can be used by young, aspiring artists who want to make a small production of their work, as well as by curious people who want to explore a new creative medium.
“It is the same principle as in the pottery workshop on Rue des Forges. You'll learn the basics and once you're independent, you can come to a free workshop on your own. We are equipped for screen printing. We separated our premises to create a space for the workshop. For us it also means that we can rent this space. At 507, part of the shop will be unlocked to accommodate more products. It represents a great development for both them and us,” adds Geneviève Savard.
In addition, a crowdfunding campaign is running until January 12th through the La Ruche platform to collect donations that will allow the purchase of the necessary equipment as well as the organization and coordination of all the activities of this space. The 507 hopes to raise $10,000 through the campaign. Note that the 1001 Youth Fund, which supports the campaign, as well as the Coop Effect Fund will provide the organization with access to additional funding totaling $21,000.