STORES QUIT ON BISHOP ST.
Long construction is forcing moves, bankruptcies
The signs on the fence barring half of Bishop St. say the local businesses are open, but that’s not really true.
There has been a steady exodus of merchants since the Société de transport de Montréal tore up most of the street between SteCatherine St. and de Maisonneuve Blvd. in the summer of 2016. The four-year construction project is to build a ventilation station for the métro network.
The Brazilian restaurant Le Milsa closed and moved one block east. Next door, Le Gourmet Burger went out of business, as did a Japanese restaurant. Mexican restaurant Mesa 14 declared bankruptcy late last year. Korean restaurant Man-Na has a note on the door saying it has moved to Peel St. The building now houses an office for Pomerleau Inc., the construction company in charge of the project. Recently, the owner of Café Kafein turned over his keys to his landlord because he could not pay his rent.
It all makes Elio Schiavi feel very isolated. The owner of Ferrari Restaurant on Bishop just north of Ste-Catherine St. is one of the few remaining businesses on the street. And he says he’s fighting for his life.
“I lost $80,000 last year, and it’s not really stabilizing,” said Schiavi, who has been running the restaurant for nearly 40 years.
While the administration of Valérie Plante, like the previous Coderre administration, has promised measures to help local businesses, that comes as little solace to Schiavi, who has not seen any of his expenses diminish since the construction began.
Merchants have complained that Destination Centre-Ville, the nonprofit company dedicated to promoting local business, knew about the construction six months ahead of time, but didn’t notify them. They only found out about the four-year construction with two months to spare. They took Destination Centre-Ville, the city and the STM to court to demand compensation. The case is expected to be heard next year, but Schiavi is the only plaintiff whose business is still running.
“It would have taken a half day to come by and just let us know about it,” said Mike Cloghesy, the former owner of Mesa 14. “We might have been able to move in that time.”
Cloghesy owned Mesa 14 for more than 13 years and said the street has seen its ups and downs over the years, but the STM’s project was the last straw.
“We were forced into bankruptcy because we couldn’t sustain the 30 per cent loss of business caused by the construction,” Cloghesy said.
He added that he refused on principle to pay the merchants’ association because it has not done anything to help the local businesses, least of all give them a break on their annual membership fees, which are compulsory.
He said while his landlord was willing to overlook tens of thousands in late rent, the merchants’ association would not overlook its $900 in membership fees. He said that fee was one of the last straws that led him to declare bankruptcy.
“They never did anything for us, and when we really needed them, they couldn’t even give us the heads up about what was going to happen,” Cloghesy said. “They got a bailiff and were harassing us to collect their money. They were willing to seize the contents of the business to collect the money.
“We bankrupted the restaurant,” he added. “I’m just happy that (Destination Centre-Ville) didn’t get their money.”
Schiavi says he was also threatened with seizures and ended up paying his annual fee.
Speaking for the Plante administration, Robert Beaudry, the executive committee member responsible for economic development, said he’s surprised Destination Centre-Ville did little to help out the struggling businesses.
“(Merchants’ associations) play a critical role in mitigating the effects of construction work,” Beaudry said in a statement. “Our administration recently met with Bishop St. merchants. We were surprised to hear that they had received no help from their (association). Merchants should be able to receive appropriate help in times of need. That is why the city puts together programs in which millions of dollars are available to merchants to help them cope with construction. It is then up to the (merchants’ associations) to ensure such programs are put to good use, as we’ve seen with other streets.”
Destination Centre-Ville declined a request for an interview on this subject.