Samuel Frédette was co-owner of the business with his mother, Maryse Demers. They had taken over the reins of the convenience store two and a half years ago when the previous owner passed away.
“The profitability of the convenience store has fallen a lot,” he explains. Not just because of COVID, but for all kinds of reasons. Initially there was a gas station, but the pumps were no longer compliant. The previous owner must have stopped using them and dismantled everything. It became a small convenience store for cigarettes, beer and the lottery. Profitability was less present and it was decreasing from year to year. “
“By combining COVID-19, nothing helps,” he says, adding that the students he employed on evenings and weekends have often been in voluntary isolation during the past year, which made it difficult management.
The citizens of the municipality “found it quite boring”, according to Mr. Frédette. “To get a bottle of milk, you have to go to Val-des-Sources or Windsor, 15 or 20 minutes away by car. People understand the decision, however. “
The two owners of the convenience store have jobs: Maryse Demers owns a retirement home in Saint-Georges-de-Windsor and Samuel Frédette is an engineer and owns income properties.
According to the mayor of the municipality of about 1000 souls, René Perrault, “this is a bad message” for future citizens. “I find it sad,” he says. No matter which business closes, we think it’s because it’s quieter. But it’s very lively in Saint-Georges, I have no doubt. For years, our population has remained stable or increased slightly. No matter what business closes, it’s never good. “
New life?
Convenience stores could have a new life. “My mother and I are from Saint-Georges-de-Windsor. We would like it to start again to provide services to the population. We are looking for another option, ”says Samuel Frédette, mentioning that his convenience store was also a meeting place before COVID-19.
“If we go back in time, people would stop in the morning for coffee. There was a small table in the convenience store, ”he recalls.
A new version offering local products and basic items would be in the boxes. “We are actively working to find a solution to restore access to services. We are evaluating all the possibilities ”, he summarizes.
René Perrault has the same wish. “I understand the decision. […] Of course, the municipality, with the development committee, will try to find a way to revive the convenience store. He had been lost ten years ago. It had closed for a period of a few months, ”he explains, adding that local producers have been approached to find out if they are interested in participating in the relaunch.
According to him, a convenience store has its place in his municipality. “When we lost the gas station, it was weird. But then, losing the convenience store is even worse. 40 years ago, there were three convenience stores … ”remembers the mayor.
St-Vrac
Would the owners of Comptoir St-Vrac in Saint-Adrien be interested in exploiting the Saint-Georges-de-Windsor market? “We were approached by the MRC for that, but we are not working on the franchise model”, explains the co-owner of the company, Conrad Goulet.
“What is coming, and we are in the process of fixing it, is that we will assist communities in starting food projects,” he continues. With everything we have developed as technologies, we will be able to share it with other villages and help people start their project and get in touch with them. “
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