Montreal

"A temporary absence of his immediate superior due to health problems gave him the opportunity he wanted. While his boss was in the hospital, Bouchard found independent retailers that Provi-Soir could acquire and quickly transform. Bouchard, in a hurry to capitalize on the growing reputation of the Provi-Soir banner, believed it was necessary to step up the pace in order to win the battle against Perrette. Almost overnight, the brand could strike a major blow and acquire 25 new stores, all in the Montreal area. Even better, these stores were operational, and therefore had a known and quantifiable customer base, which would reduce the risks."

"There was no longer any margin left for Bouchard to become a more important player at Provi-Soir, so he decided to leave. He did so on good terms, however, offering to buy a second Provi-Soir franchise,[[13]](private://read/01j5mtjqkzkqnzrmf5b4rr6pr2/#notes13) whose construction was almost finished, in Blainville, north of Montreal. At management’s request, he agreed to stay on in his position until they could find a replacement. He expected it would take them a few months. It ended up taking more than a year, and not one but three successors were hired: a development supervisor, a construction supervisor and a maintenance supervisor. He still can’t believe the implication. “Like an idiot, I was doing all that work by myself,” he says—an amount of work that resulted in personal sacrifice and sometimes resulted in a less than perfect work quality."

"In 1949, their lives took a turn. As he was about to take the tram to go to work, René was hit head-on by a reckless driver’s car. Violently thrown to the ground, he ended up with a broken arm and nose, as well as a triple fracture in his leg—injuries that would require no fewer than five surgeries. To make matters worse, his bones would not calcify. Confined to bed, in a cast for a year, the father had to say goodbye to his job. It would be another two years before he fully regained the use of his leg. And the severity of his injury would forever prohibit him from working as a firefighter. As for compensation… At the time, unfortunately, there was no group insurance plan to cover such misfortune. However, the city of Montreal agreed to grant the household a lifetime annual pension of $528—a meager $44 per month. A pittance. A true “change of status,” but not in the desired way. With a wife and two children to feed, their former carefree days were gone."

"In the days following the opening, Hélène is walking on air. The chickens are turning golden in the rotisserie. The kitchen is a buzzing hive. Drawn by the delicious smell, customers are flocking in. With its 78 seats, the small restaurant quickly becomes packed. The first weekend promises bright prospects: “Our first Saturday night is amazing,” the new owner notes in her journal. “It’s packed all night.” The young woman is overjoyed. She finally has her dream. The restaurant closes in the early hours of the morning. After all, you have to accommodate the hungry night owls pouring onto the pavement when the clubs close. In this early fifties era, Montreal is experiencing one of the liveliest nightlife scenes. Television has not yet been commercialized! So people go out more often. However, the Léger family is far from imagining just how providential the cathode-ray screen will one day be for them. Other more pressing concerns occupy their minds."

"Neither shock nor rupture in this decision made in agreement with her mother, but rather a happy event: the birth of her son in 1970. True to family tradition, the young mother preferred to devote herself entirely to the education of her offspring. Without diminishing this original motivation, another, more diffuse yet just as compelling, drives her to leave the St-Hubert fold. “Who would I be without the family business?” This is the question that has always haunted her. This project, which was her parents’ and which she inherited by default, shaped her childhood. But it suddenly became burdensome. Too simple, too predictable. Business? In truth, she fell into it when she was little, without really choosing. Hence this irrepressible need to break free, to go in search of herself and discover new horizons. She therefore followed her husband for two years to Toronto, then for fourteen months to Quebec City. Back in Montreal, she fulfilled her dream: to pursue a DEC in visual arts at Cégep du Vieux-Montréal. A recipient of a piano award, she took flute lessons—an easier instrument to carry. The artist within her had finally spread her wings. Claire was even about to start a bachelor’s degree in printmaking at Concordia University. But all this is now in the past, as she is back at the Pont-Viau headquarters. The rotisseries have finally caught up with her."

"In addition to being financially profitable, the Expo 67 episode once again established the Légers as pioneers in their field. Until then, no Quebecers had ever taken the mass catering experience so far. The founders of St-Hubert Bar-B-Q and their entire team gained unmatched expertise and increased visibility from it. People from outside Montreal discovered the great taste of St-Hubert, which encouraged the opening of new branches. That same year, St-Hubert set up on Saint-Charles Street in Longueuil, a first on the South Shore. As for the first franchise, it opened in Quebec City. It would be a simple delivery and takeout counter. However, this foray outside the metropolitan area foreshadowed the coming decade, which would be marked by the proliferation of numerous franchises throughout the province."

"During the Power turnaround years, he had continued his habit of travelling extensively overseas. He was able to do so because Parisien was the man on site who oversaw the technicalities of implementating Desmarais’s plans. So Desmarais explored. He discovered opportun¬ ities in the Middle East, in transportation, energy and the provision of financial contacts and services to oil-rich countries. So excited was he about these opportunities that, in 1972, Desmarais directed the pilot of Power’s corporate jet to have extra fuel tanks installed so they could fly non-stop from Montreal to Beirut, Lebanon. Overall, the formula that had worked for Consolidated-Bathurst would work for Power: retrench and consolidate the core of the com¬ pany; ensure it was stable and reasonably secure; then expand to the big markets, Europe and the United States. But the terrain had to be reconnoitered, contacts made and developed — overseas expansion of Power’s business opportunities would take time to develop. But"