Metro Inc. is on the hunt for a new business owner to take control of the only grocery store in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue after it suddenly shut down over the weekend.
The Montreal-based company is the franchisor of Marché Richelieu, the sole food store and a staple in the small West Island community for the past 85 years. The business itself was owned by Coopérative de solidarité de Bellevue, which Metro says closed down the store.
Metro, meanwhile, still has a seven-year lease left on the building on St-Pierre Street. It said it only found out about the impending closure last Thursday, just a few days before the lights went out.
“We are working hard to find another merchant to take over the operations of the store,” Metro said in an email Monday.
“We know it was the only food store in the community and we hope to be able to find a new owner quickly, in collaboration with the bankruptcy trustee mandated by the Coopérative de solidarité de Bellevue.”
In an email to Global News, a spokesperson for the Coopérative de solidarité de Bellevue said they were forced to file for bankruptcy.
“We explored various scenarios, but none allowed us to meet our financial obligations. We were unable to recruit enough staff to maintain adequate service for our clients.”
The sudden closure has left Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, which is home to families and CEGEP students, in the lurch. As a result, 25 employees also lost their jobs.
With no other grocery store in the community, residents have few options for fresh food and produce — and it’s especially lacking for those on foot. They are forced to head west to Île-Perrot, an off-island suburb that has both IGA and Metro stores, or east on Highway 20 to Provigo in Baie-D’Urfé.
However, Global News has learned that the Provigo will be undergoing renovations and will close for three months beginning at the end of March.
The Richard family, which previously owned Marché Richelieu before it was sold to the Coopérative de solidarité de Bellevue, said “it goes without saying we are very saddened by this outcome.”
In a statement posted to Facebook, the family also said it “sold a business that was in good financial and commercial health and we were confident that the Coopérative would prosper for many years to come.”
“We are very sensitive to the importance for our community to have a grocery store in the village and we will of course collaborate in any initiative that would aim to reopen such a business as soon as possible,” the family wrote.
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Mayor Paola Hawa said she is hopeful that the store will reopen in the next few weeks.
“We know that they (Metro) are putting in all the efforts possible to find a new merchant and I trust them and believe that they will put in all the efforts possible and hopefully it’ll come to fruition,” said Hawa.
Until a store is back up and running, Hawa said she is trying to figure out solutions for people who aren’t able to get themselves to grocery stores in neighbouring cities and towns.
She’s hoping to recruit volunteers to help pick up groceries or drive people to stores — and is also working with Metro for a possible delivery discount.
— with files from Global’s Elizabeth Zogalis
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