IT’S ALL CONNECTED
Must Société is inviting maze of retail spaces
Even amid the cranes and the cement trucks, a new neighbourhood is being born in Griffintown.
Marc-André Royal, who recently opened a second branch of his popular Bête à pain bakery at the foot of Peel St., says he was pleasantly surprised to see a real neighbourhood already taking shape, even though the area, with its multiplying condo towers, is still under construction.
“This neighbourhood is a ‘super-mix’ of young people, singles, young couples, baby boomers. People of all nationalities who seem to have an eye for what’s cool,” says Royal. After less than two months in business he already is serving more than 3,000 customers a week — beyond his wildest expectation. “Many of them live in the condos nearby, and others come here from Old Montreal and downtown to have lunch, wander.”
Royal installed his bakery in Must Société, an arty locale that epitomizes Griffintown’s emerging creative scene. It’s a new kind of “store-destination” that’s more like a museum of beautiful things than a decor store. It was the brainchild of Éric Corbeil, the co-president of the Maison Corbeil chain of Quebec furniture stores, who imagined a European-style concept store shared by several retailers, each of whom he hand-picked, all of them sharing a design-forward visual esthetic. It’s a place where visitors don’t just buy, but wander, browse, pick up snippets of inspiration, stop for a bite to eat or sign up for a flower-arranging class or a pop-up chef’s dinner.
Occupying a row of overhauled industrial lofts near Peel and Wellington Sts., Must Société is a vast maze of connecting spaces, each filled with a different kind of merchandise, all of it curated by Montreal designer Louis Gagnon, of Paprika, and overseen by Maison Corbeil. Visitors enter from one of three entrances on either Peel or Young Sts.
If they come in through the bakery, they might stop for a coffee and a viennoiserie in the loftlike space, watching the bakers at work, then meander into another room filled with kitchenware displayed in a kitchen designed by Cuisines Steam. Wandering a little farther, they will find themselves amid the orchids and potted herbs at Prune les fleurs, a pretty little flower shop that sits right in the middle of the Must Société decor and furniture displays. Down another allée and they can try on headphones at Fillion Electronique. There’s also a “boutique éphémère,” whose occupants will change with the seasons. Right now, it is filled with balcony-sized outdoor furniture from Jardin de Ville. Come fall, it might host a seller of vintage furniture, or handmade Quebec furnishings. The luxury French furniture line Ligne Roset anchors the other end of the space.
We wandered around Must Société the other day talking to the people behind one of Montreal’s edgiest new retail spaces. Meet them here:
THE FURNITURE SELLER William Corbeil, Maison Corbeil
“This is a cool neighbourhood that’s getting even cooler. People here are really into the urban lifestyle. And that’s what we are about. But the new retail model isn’t just about buying and selling products, it’s about being part of a community. Furniture is our business, so that was our starting point, but then we brought in other things, like a bakery and kitchen workshops.
“I live in Griffintown myself and my neighbours are young people who are social and friendly and fresh in their outlook. They like to mix things up, modern and vintage, high and low, without a single set style. We wanted the store to look like them.”
THE DESIGNER Louis Gagnon, Paprika
“It may seem like nothing from the outside, but step inside Must Société and there’s a multitude of wonders. This was a jumble of partitioned spaces — a karate studio on one end and a landscaper’s warehouse on the other.
“The idea was to open it up, but not completely, to create a series of spaces that lead onto each other. We wanted a modern, new space that kept the building’s old industrial cachet. We saved the old concrete floors, but polished them up so that they look almost like terrazzo. Where we laid new floor, it is wood set in a herringbone pattern like you see in Europe or patterned cement tiles reminiscent of Spain and Portugal. It’s a cultural mix that’s quintessentially Montreal.
“We custom-made glass and steel panels inspired by the skylights in the old factory to act as dividers between the different shops. We left the concrete and brick walls rough, but painted them white to unify the space. Just four days before opening day, I found a stash of antique doors and shutters with their original paint in a salvage store. We hung them mosaic-style on the wall of the bakery.
“We knew we wanted a bakery, for the wonderful smells, but also to bring people in on a daily basis. That’s what brings life to the space. And throughout, we chose merchandise that works well together, like a curated collection. Right down to the pots and pans, the toasters and the whiskey glasses.”
THE FLORIST Nadine Jazouli, Prune les fleurs
“I had my own atelier, doing
wedding flowers and bouquets in a style that I call poetic — big bouquets of peonies, sweet william, little cabbages, ranunculus, for example. Then Eric Corbeil called and asked it I wanted to be part of something new. I’d never have opened my own boutique. Retail is risky; rents are so high and flowers are so perishable. And people are often intimidated about coming into a florist. But here, they wander in, almost by accident, and then they linger. They come back, just to be inspired.
“People seem to like to be in a place that feels like someone’s gorgeous living room, surrounded by beautiful things, not just flowers, but furniture and objets. It’s more like discovering than shopping. It reminds me a lot of Merci in Paris (the concept store in an old wallpaper factory in the Haut Marais district that brings together fashion designers, housewares and restaurants.)”
THE BAKER Marc-André Royal, Bête à pain
“This is a new kind of bakery, not the old-school Parisian bakeries you find all over Montreal. It’s a mixed bakery and restaurant, where cooks and bakers work together, where everything is open, like you see on the West Coast. You can have coffee and an éclair or a super-simple sandwich for lunch.
“We made the counters low, so people could look over, right into the kitchen. It’s a working space, and we want to welcome people into it. That’s what gives ambience.
“I’m also running a pop-up dinner series. I’ve invited my chef friends to come and do sixcourse meals for 15 people max on Wednesday nights. It’s part of the interactive nature of the Must Société concept.”