Quebec City

"He still has heartbreaking memories of visits to the Saint-Michel-Archange psychiatric hospital in Quebec City, where his mother was held for two years, and where she was given “care” in the form of ice baths. When that treatment failed to cure her depression, the doctors considered giving her a lobotomy; she barely escaped the treatment. Each of Alain’s visits were the same, and ended with her pleading. “She would say, ‘Alain, get me out of here.’” He had to explain that there was nothing he could do, that he would love to bring her home with him but that he didn’t have the authority to discharge her from the hospital. When he returned home, he would beg his father, trying to convince him that the children could take care of her far better than the so-called doctors at Saint-Michel-Archange. But it was impossible. The father knew full well that he couldn’t bring his wife into their mobile home, pushing their number to eight, only to abandon her for months when he went off to a work site. It would just pull them all back into the nightmare they had lived through before."

"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."