Restos and boutiques are closing
Shortly before Christmas, one of the partners at the local fruiterie told me gloomily to expect the closure of a lot of the independent businesses in the neighbourhood in the new year. Like many others, his store is at grips with rising rent, while his clientele has dwindled since the pandemic began. So many people set up food deliveries then and continue to rely on them, meaning they don’t resort so often to the corner store. And of course he hears things as he visits wholesalers and talks to others in the trade.
News keeps coming (although some of this is repeated from earlier) of restaurant and boutique closures, which begins to bear out Ali’s bleak prediction.
DisgruntledGoat 14:23 on 2024-01-07 Permalink
I feel like small businesses are in a larger societal death spiral. Grocery delivery was very low quality service during the early pandemic, but now services like IGA’s Voila are (I hate to say it) good for a large amount of recurring pantry and fresh products.
As a worker somewhere between low and medium income, with a rent that has skyrocketed, those 2-3 hours saved per week make a material difference in quality of life as I continue on the treadmill of working more to make ends meet.
It just feels like an acceleration on a larger scale in society and many local businesses will take the hit for it.
Jonathan 17:57 on 2024-01-07 Permalink
We’ve lost a lot of density over the years too. With Plex conversions, demographics of smaller households and Airbnb emptying out other houses. All this with more cars and developments like Costco and Walmart and then the dwindling (if not already non existent) neighbourhood -focused bus service, how can small businesses survive? We are still working with the commercial/retail space we’ve had since the 50s.
Chris 18:32 on 2024-01-07 Permalink
Costco and Walmart are the past. Now everyone just orders everything, including groceries, on Amazon. You only need to visit one website, instead of hunting around many stores.
Jonathan 20:26 on 2024-01-07 Permalink
Why did they just open a gigantic new Walmart off the 40 then? Boomers like my parents don’t order groceries online is my impression. They still go to stores IRL.
Kate 20:39 on 2024-01-07 Permalink
I don’t know anyone who orders groceries off Amazon.
I could get by with a weekly order from Lufa, but there are things I like from half a dozen real stores that I would miss. Maybe some folks can manage with a weekly Voilà order.
Chris 22:55 on 2024-01-07 Permalink
I didn’t mean ‘everyone’ literally. But enough that it’s contributing to the decline of local small businesses.
Phil 06:45 on 2024-01-08 Permalink
And something will take the place of them. I can remember as a child, how there were people at the supermarket who would bag your purchases for you. Then it stopped. And now it is back.
I can remember as a young adult, being able to order beer and cigarettes from the local depanneur. Then it stopped. Now it is back.
My grandparents and parents complained about rising prices. Welcome to being an adult.
Catch up on your Heraclitus: The only constant is change.
Kate 10:28 on 2024-01-08 Permalink
Phil, I realize everything changes, but the tendency when commercial rents are rising like this is for only big chains to be able to thrive, pushing out the smaller more varied businesses that make neighbourhoods interesting. If every commercial street is the same, if every café is a Starbucks, every restaurant a McDonalds, every dep a Couche‑Tard, every meal chicken nuggets and fries, I don’t want to live on this planet any more.
Ian 10:44 on 2024-01-08 Permalink
Even the big chains are having a tough time, all the Starbucks closed around me and are now Columbus chain cafés. Columbus is a continental French take on the PNW, it’s a facsimile of a facsimile. I think that’s the Baudrillardian stage of masking the absence of basic reality?
Admittedly I do Lufa for produce but for the daily grocery I’m always at one of the smaller local shops, with a one-a-week trip to the big Maxi. I think Lufa is an exception to the deliveries are bad for local business rule in that they are using urban space for farming which is not only a great alternate use of space but also provides decent local jobs.
CE 11:10 on 2024-01-08 Permalink
I think Starbucks is a bad example. It’s seen in a different light here than in other places and it’s not a positive light. My work brings me into contact with people from lots of places and many people comment on how few Starbucks (and international chains in general) we have here compared to where they’re from (they generally see this as a good thing).
Ephraim 12:08 on 2024-01-08 Permalink
I likely buy more groceries than most people. Online grocery shopping is AWFUL. It’s unreliable and much more expensive. But I usually manage with one weekly visit to at least 2 different stores, though Maxi does match prices, but with limited quantities. And Costco beats that sometimes.
If I order something at Walmart, for example, there is no way to really know if they have stock. And if they don’t, they want to be able to substitute, but they don’t substitute at the sale price. NOPE! If I order the Generic “Toasted O” 525g cereal on sale for $4.97 and you don’t have it, I should be getting the branded 570g $4.97. Or a raincheck for the $4.97 box. But they can’t handle a raincheck online like that. I in certain categories, they limit me to 10 of an item. That’s the online limit… 10. And stores that do price-match, won’t price-match online orders. Heck, some of them won’t price-match if you use the self check-out.
For example, this week, Maxi has $3.66 for 1.5 dozen eggs (so $2.44 a dozen). If this was the summer, I would have a fridge full! No one beats that price this week! In the summer, I can go through a gross in a week
Ian 08:54 on 2024-01-09 Permalink
That’s a lot of eggs! I have to watch my cholesterol so I’m glad someone is out there picking up my slack in that regard.
dhomas 18:44 on 2024-01-09 Permalink
Another one bites the dust:
https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/n-d-g-landmark-momessos-restaurant-is-closing
;(