Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue grocery store to close on April 20

Workers in Ste. Anne de Bellevue will soon need to say goodbye to the Ami Marche which is set to close April 20, 2024.

The only grocery store in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue will close.

After struggling to find a solution to the financial plight of the Ami Marche on Montreal's West Island, owner Lory Vansteene delivered the bad news to customers on social media.

"Despite many sacrifices, customers and friends, it is with a heavy heart that we regret to announce that we must close," said Vansteene in a Facebook post.

The store is located on Saint-Pierre Street and will close its doors for good on April 20.

Vansteene and her husband Claude McSween came out of retirement to buy the store when they heard it was in trouble and closed in January 2023.

It reopened in May.

Vansteene said that the current economic context and operational costs have made it impossible to continue.

"Several elements have worked against us, and considerably affect the volume of our sales, in particular, the closure of the Ile-aux-Tourtes Bridge," she said.

The couple worked with its franchisor Metro to save the business, but "it was not enough," said Vansteene.