Marché Saint-So on Cardinal-taschenreau Street is the third grocery store to close in the Saint-Sauveur district in the last year.
Running a local grocery store requires “a lot of energy and work for little profit,” proclaims Mélissa Laflamme-Ouellet, co-owner with her father and brother of Marché Saint-So. “Honestly, in the end there’s not much left.”
High fixed costs, low profit margins and a fleet of machinery that needed some TLC took its toll on the small business.
“Maybe they make a 10% margin at Costco, but on millions. But 10% in a local company isn’t much.”
– Mélissa Laflamme-Ouellet
The noose is tightening quickly, she said. “The costs for our suppliers are rising, but we cannot pass on the total bill to our customers.”
Separating from the Bonichoix banner, to which the grocery store was originally affiliated, was the option the three shareholders chose last summer for cost reasons. A business decision that led to a decrease in sales while customers bought more discounts from the Bonichoix circular.
“We had lower costs, but less sales. We went back to square one,” says Mélissa Laflamme-Ouellet, also co-owner of the liquidated Quebec grocery store Panier Extra.
:quality(100)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/lescoopsdelinformation/6C2ERP2AJFBVZA4266QD6GI3BA.jpg "Local grocery stores fall in Saint-Sauveur - Le Soleil 1")
“I was aware that the closure would be a shock for many people in the neighborhood because it is very ingrained in habits,” emphasizes the one who has met regular customers during her visits to the Marché Saint-So since the announcement.
She thinks in particular of the border guard who stopped at the store several times a day and of a resident of Saint-Sauveur with reduced mobility who did her shopping there. “It will be more difficult for them. She has to take a taxi to pick up her groceries or have them delivered.”
“A big loss”
Grocery stores can still be found in Saint-Sauveur's shopping streets, be it Boulevard Charest, Rue Marie-de-l'Incarnation or Rue Saint-Vallier Ouest.
Despite everything, Catherine Bonneau, coordinator of the Concertation Saint-Sauveur's food security committee, believes that the closure of the Saint-So market is “a great loss for the neighborhood.” Local shops have sprung up on Rue Saint-Vallier Ouest, but they “mainly meet the needs of a better-off clientele,” she complains.
According to her, the lack of affordable grocery stores in this corner of the city, which has been changing for several years, is worrying.
While Ms. Bonneau describes the Notre-Dame-de-Pitié and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce sectors as “food and service deserts,” she fears that the Sacré-Cœur quadrangle will gradually suffer the same fate.
“Many people have to travel to the outskirts to get groceries, and the transportation costs are added to their grocery bill,” she points out.
Without lever
According to the Saint-Sauveur Neighborhood Citizens Committee (CCCQSS), access to local businesses has long been a concern for people in the neighborhood.
“Of course we want it to remain a company that meets basic needs, because that is what we are losing a lot in the neighborhood,” says Sarah-Jane Ouellet, coordinator and moderator at CCCQSS.
However, this is an issue where citizens and organizations have little influence. It is difficult to apply the brakes as long as the use of the site complies with the zoning approved by the City of Quebec.
“Citizens can influence processes, but with limited power, as we recently saw with the Potash Project,” explains the woman who heads the Food Security Committee of the Concertation Saint-Sauveur.
While the building that housed the Marché Saint-So is up for sale, the question of which building will take the place of the grocery store remains unanswered. “Will this be something that can make up for this loss?” asks the CCCQSS spokesman.