Avril Supermarché Santé to set up shop in Montreal

More than a quarter century after its founding in 1995, Avril Supermarché Santé will open its first supermarket in Montreal next June, a $3-million store in the downtown area.

The 7,500-square-foot “urban concept” store will be in the new Humaniti Montreal complex, located in the Quartier international area, which links downtown to Old Montreal.

“We had to end up in Montreal because we are all over (Quebec) except Montreal,” says Rolland Tanguay, co-founder and co-owner of Granby, Quebec-based Avril. “Being in the heart of Montreal is a good idea for us.”

Avril has often been approached about venturing into Montreal “but there was never an appropriate site for us,” says Sylvie Senay, Avril’s other co-founder and co-owner. “The timing also wasn’t good.”

The Montreal store will be much smaller than Avril’s 44,000-square-foot store in Laval or its other stores in various regions of Quebec, which range between 20,000 to 25,000 square feet.

The new urban store will offer a wide range of organic produce, grocery items, food supplements and cosmetics.

Located next to the Palais des Congrès convention centre, Humaniti includes condos, rental apartments, a hotel, offices and stores. The new Avril will attract residents in the complex, residents nearby and area businesspeople, Tanguay says.

The Avril store will be on the ground-floor of  Humaniti’s office and have an entrance on Viger St. “It’s very accessible,” Senay says.

It will have a large ready-to-eat section, a 60-seat restaurant and an outdoor patio that can seat 60 to 80 people. There will be 10 free underground parking spots reserved for clients.

“It has everything we could hope for in Montreal,” Tanguay says. “We’re really enthusiastic about it.”

The store will have about 25 employees and the same opening hours as other outlets.

It will “certainly not” be Avril’s last store on the island of Montreal, Tanguay says.

Avril currently has eight stores in the province, and is also opening a 44,000-square-foot store in May 2021 in the new Marché des Promenades section of CF Promenades St-Bruno on the South Shore of Montreal. The new mall area will feature a mix of specialty and artisanal food shops.

The new stores will bring Avril’s store count to 10.