ALEXANDRA ROBERTSON
The 1510 West

The only grocery store in Ste. Anne de Bellevue is set to close – again.

On April 21, the small town will have to say goodbye to Marché Richelieu for good.

“It’s been a rollercoaster, but now we are truly at the end of the ride,” said Mayor Poala Hawa, referring to the store that has struggled to say afloat since it reopened last spring after the former owner filed for bankruptcy in January 2023.

Hawa added that although the city tried everything it could to keep the doors open, there is nothing more that can be done.

“Whatever we were able to do to help, we did,” she said. “We sat down with Metro. We tried to find other ways to bring in new business and help them advertise it.”

She noted that the promotion was set to begin this summer.

Hawa mentioned that there was a spark of hope about a week and a half ago, when another grocery chain was going to step in and take over. But, in the end, those hopes were dashed.

“It’s legally very, very complicated,” she continued. “It’s a long-term lease that Metro had and they couldn’t transfer it over to the other grocery chain because they would basically be giving it over to their competitor.”

Claude McSween, the current owner of the store, had been keeping the place going for about a year. Growing up in the neighbouring town of Île Perrot, he had managed and worked in other small markets and a butcher shop, bringing a lot of experience to the table.

The expenses were becoming too high, and Hawa said that they were basically working at a loss from month to month.

“God bless them, they threw everything at it,” Hawa said. “They tried their best. They tried every avenue and number crunched as much as they possibly could.”

Everyone is heartbroken, Hawa said.

The mayor understands that this little shop was vital for the small community of Ste. Anne.

“The village is very different from the rest of the West Island,” Hawa explained. “It’s very car-centric everywhere else, you can just get in your car to go to Costco or wherever.”

But Ste. Anne village is different. The car does not reign supreme in this area, which is characterized by narrow streets and residential dwellings that are tightly fitted one next to the other, where many seniors and students live.

“People walk to do their groceries,” Hawa said.

“It’s a basic service that we’re losing,” she continued. “Most people don’t have a car, and because we don’t have a very good public transit system that people can rely on, they’re really stuck.”

The nearest grocery stores are Provigo in Baie d’Urfé or Maxi in Pincourt.

McSween and his family became a part of the Ste. Anne neighborhood, according to the mayor.

“It’s not just a grocery store; it’s a community centre,” Hawa said. “You go get a carton of milk and all of a sudden you run into your next door neighbour who you haven’t seen in three weeks. Then you stay to chit chat. You always run into someone.”

Marché Richelieu has served Ste. Anne for 85 years. It closed for a short while in January 2023 after the Coopérative de solidarité de Bellevue announced it had filed for bankruptcy. McSween and his wife reopened the outlet on May 25 with a new, fresh layout, new products and ready-made meals. The store is operating under normal hours until April 21.