Metro reopens swanky supermarket in Montreal's Westmount

After two long years, Les 5 Saisons has returned to Greene Avenue in Montreal’s ritzy Anglophone neighbourhood of Westmount.

Richard Pruneau, Metro’s senior director for merchandising, said the high-end store isn’t just a place for people to do their grocery lists. “We’ve created a destination for foodies.”

Pruneau hopes that when shoppers come to the new 5 Saisons, they will see “exceptional products, and that our quality standards are through the roof.”

VIEW: Take a tour of Les 5 Saisons

The store closed on May 20, 2011, to make way for the construction of ‘Le 1250 Avenue Greene’, a luxury condominium building. Les 5 Saisons store is on the ground floor of that building. “We thought an upscale store would be a great fit,” Pruneau said.

The nearly 10,000-square-foot store is big, bright, beautiful, and cost $6.7 million to make. The store will now boast at least 85 employees, compared to the 35 people who worked at the store before the renovations.

“We are delighted to finally be able to show the results of several months of work,” said Christian Bourbonnière, senior vice-president of Metro’s Quebec Division. “There is no other store like it in Quebec, with a distinctive and sought-after upscale offering, and we are anxious to see our customers’ reaction.”

Some products unique to the store include Balik smoked salmon, which Pruneau called the “Tenderloin of salmon.” He said it came from a ancient recipe “that the Czar in Russia used to make. It’s very popular among European royalty."

Les 5 Saisons also sells organically certified cut fruit and vegetables, Japanese specialty Kobe beef, Lydia’s pasta products “from the Eataly store in New York City,” and prosciutto cotto di Parma, which Pruneau says is only available in New York, Italy, and Paris.

READ: Where do food trends come from anyway?

They also have forged a relationship with Europea, one of the finest restaurants in Montreal. Pruneau said that Metro contacted (chef and owner) Jerome Ferrer, and asked him if they could have some products from his restaurant.

“We think that Europea is one of the best restaurants in Montreal. We order fresh from him everyday, and this is the only Metro owned store that has Europea’s products.”

As of now, Pruneau said that there are no immediate plans to open more 5 Saisons stores.

“Our first step is to do well here. We’ll bring some of our exclusive products to the store in Outremont (the only other 5 Saisons), but we have no immediate plans to expand the brand.”