SAINT-HENRI – Things are slowly getting back to business as usual in Saint-Henri after police said about 30 vandals raided the 3734 grocery store, Saturday night.
READ MORE: Anti-gentrification protesters target Saint-Henri shop
Maxime Tremblay, the owner, is still shocked.
“I really never thought a little grocery that sells local products would be the target for that kind of action,” he told Global News.
Robbers pasted the store with anti-gentrification slogans and removed much of its inventory, according to Montreal police.
“About 30 people went into the business, stole some items from that business and from there, they decided to do graffiti on the store, on the windows and there were some messages that were left too on the site,” said police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant.
So far, no one has been arrested in the crime, but one McGill professor said it could be a symptom of a bigger issue.
“It’s a wider issue of these condominiums and shops moving into areas with poorer people,” he said.
“And these poorer people not having anywhere to go.”
Saint-Henri is changing quickly enough that some businesses that came in an initial wave of gentrification are getting squeezed out of the neighbourhood as overhead costs shoot up.
Tremblay said he plans to stay open and stay in the neighbourhood.
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