The day has finally arrived for Milano, an iconic grocery store in Montreal’s little Italy, to reopen its door.
Co-owner Mario Zaurini is celebrating, after nearly losing it all June 25 when a five alarm fire ravaged his 62-year-old store.
“It’s a new beginning, we have changed the store, we have redecorated the store,” Zaurini said. “Fifty per cent of the store had to be torn down completely, all the counters, floors, ceiling, walls, everything. We had to go the shell and we had to redo everything…it’s like a brand new store.”
WATCH BELOW: Fire damages Milano’s Grocery store and apartment building
It took 125 firefighters to extinguish the blaze but by the time it was over Milano’s had suffered considerable water damage.
The fire also left seven homes completely burnt.
The suspected cause of the fire was a cigarette butt left in a clay flower pot.
READ MORE: Fire in Little Italy leaves 7 homeless, community in shock
Zaurini remembered how the community reacted when the tragedy struck.
“The people around the community, they were devastated when we had the fire in June,” Zaurini said. “They were wondering where else to go to shop because there’s many things in the store that they can’t find anywhere else.”
While apartments above Milano are still being rebuilt, the store officially reopened its doors at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
Some customers had no problems waiting outside just to catch a first glimpse of the renovated store.
Mario Iamonico, a client from Longueuil, comes to Milano’s to stock up on his favourite foods like cold cuts and cheese.
“I like my Italian food and in Longueuil you do have some stores but the product is not as fresh and more expensive,” Iamonico said. “Here you got the freshness, you get the prices.”
Zaurini said the store added a new corner for baked goods and will eventually expand the current fruits and vegetables section.
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