Updated yesterday at 11:00 am.
Even though a fire left its owners fearing the worst, La Vieille Europe is preparing to celebrate its 65th anniversary. Last Tuesday, the front door of the famous deli on Main was still boarded up, but customers flocked in droves as usual.
When Paulo Raimundo arrived on the scene in the middle of the night and saw the dozens of firefighters at work, he never imagined that the store on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, which he owns with two other friends of Portuguese origin, would soon reopen. “It was a disaster,” said one of the grocery store’s three co-owners.
Steve Da Silva, also co-owner of Nelson Santos, shows us photos on his cell phone of the two upstairs offices destroyed by the flames and all the debris that erupted downstairs. “Thanks to employees, neighbors and friends, we managed to repair the damage and reopened 27 hours later,” he explains with relief, stating that he does not yet know the cause of the fire on November 10th.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Co-owners Steve Da Silva and Paulo Raimundo. Nelson Santos was not present when the photo was taken.
The stucco ceilings, the wooden furniture, the coffee roasting machine: everything is still there, not to mention the around 5,000 products on the shelves. “It was always important to us to retain the old character. We have very long-standing customers and we don’t want them to lose their bearings,” emphasizes Steve Da Silva.
The little story
On January 1st, Steve Da Silva will have been co-owner of La Vieille Europe for 24 years. “My father was there 17 years before me. »
But let’s go even further back in time, to 1959. Originally, a Jewish couple, the Litvaks, opened the so-called Old Europe Meat Market. Thirteen years later, when business was slow, a trusted employee, Jose Castanheira, offered him a job. Rename Butcher’s shop. He then became the owner.
Steve Da Silva and Nelson Santos’ fathers took over, then their sons followed suit. The latter then convinced his friend Paulo Raimundo to become her partner while the latter had to go to work in California as a… physiotherapist!
I work with my best friends.
Steve Da Silva, co-owner of La Vieille Europe
Due to a fire at the end of the 1970s, La Vieille Europe was able to double its area. Last week’s events made Steve Da Silva fear the worst. “During the fire I almost had tears in my eyes. I said to myself: But what should I do? »
He admits that it took flames to rekindle his feelings about the company he became co-owner of in his early twenties, more through circumstance than calling.
Little Portugal
Paulo Raimundo, for his part, began working at La Vieille Europe against his will. “My family lived in the neighborhood. One day my mother took my hand without telling me where we were going. When we arrived at La Vieille Europe, where she often came to shop, she asked the boss if he needed someone to help her. »
La Vieille Europe is a grocery store on Main that many Portuguese families frequented when the neighborhood was nicknamed Little Portugal.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Silvia prepares and serves coffee and sandwiches.
Silvia has been an employee of La Vieille Europe for over 30 years. “Since October 4, 1993,” explains the person who served us an excellent Italian cappuccino, just like we like it.
Silvia is very connected to the Main and the old Portuguese Quarter. “I came to Canada when I was 15. I had no friends and didn’t speak French. I missed Portugal, so I felt at home here. »
“The Hand is like a family,” adds Steve Da Silva.
When we lit the fire, all the neighbors came to cheer us on. It’s really extraordinary.
Steve Da Silva, co-owner of La Vieille Europe
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Some delicatessens harken back to the days of the old Jewish Quarter before the massive arrival of Portuguese immigrants.
For many people, La Vieille Europe represents a calming presence on Saint-Laurent Boulevard. Perhaps even more so since the Main Deli closed last May.
Coffee roasting
One thing is certain: it is dangerous to enter La Vieille Europe on an empty stomach. There are almost 250 types of cheese, cold cuts and around 5,000 rare and sought-after products. Local and imported products including German Stollen Christmas fruit cake and Portuguese sheep’s cheese Serra Valmadeiros. It’s panettone season too!
La Vieille Europe is one of the first places in Quebec to roast coffee on site. “It was avant-garde and we still sell a lot of coffee,” says Steve Da Silva.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Coffee is roasted in this Probat machine.
While we were chatting with Paulo Raimundo, a loyal customer asked him if we could order the port-infused Stilton cheese (on site). At checkout we made sure to write down his name and phone number so we could call him back when the time came.
We should not forget one important aspect: the relationship that La Vieille Europe has built with long-standing customers.