Restaurateurs in the head of the bridges in Quebec are out of breath and implore the government of Quebec to come to them financially, without which the survival of their establishment is threatened.
“We struggle like devils in holy water to survive and, currently, it is downright the government that strangles us. […] It is not only the future of my restaurant that is at stake, but also mine, ”notes, distraught, the owner chef of the restaurant Le Galopin, Mathieu Guérard.
Photo Vincent Desbiens Le Journal de Québec Vincent Desbiens
Since the major project of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MTMD) in 2023, aimed at redoing the head of the head of bridges, their customers only drops drastically, deplore the merchants.
DIVERY BY Lévis
Mr. Guérard does not hide it: having already contracted a personal loan to cross the storm, he is at the end of his resources.
And the worst is to come, since the ministry is preparing to close the avenue des Hotels completely between the Saint-Louis chemin and the Quebec Aquarium until the end of 2026, according to the schedule available on its website.
Photo Vincent Desbiens Le Journal de Québec Vincent Desbiens
“We have no entry on the Saint-Louis path like the neighbors. The only way to come to the restaurant or the sepia hotel arriving from Quebec, it will be to cross the Quebec bridge and return through the entrance which gives directly to the 175 route. We are talking about a detour of at least 30 minutes at peak time. Our food is excellent, but who will ride to Lévis to go and eat in Quebec? ” The owner leader ironically wonders.
Threatened institution
For his part, the owner of the Ristorant Michelangelo, Nicolas Cortina, sees the sad reality looming on the horizon. He maintains that the institution over 50 years old could sink in the next three years.
Photo Vincent Desbiens
“They are destroying my restaurant. I am not sure I go to 55 years of opening, ”he breathes. Naturally talkative, Mr. Cortina did not wish to comment more on the situation as negotiations are underway with the government in relation to the acquisition of a plot of its land to allow the reconfiguration of the avenue des Hotels.
Letter to the Minister
Last June, Mathieu Guérard joined five other traders in the sector who signed a letter to request an official meeting with the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, in order to find common ground in relation to compensation for monetary losses.
Among other things, we can read there that, although “this redevelopment [soit] necessary “, the entrepreneurs deplore that a” regulatory impasse “on compensation threatens their future when some have lost up to 40% of their monthly turnover.
Photo Vincent Desbiens Le Journal de Québec Vincent Desbiens
“It’s going to be super beautiful when it is finished, but I’m not even sure if we will still be there to benefit from it …”, drop the chief of the Galopin.
Last November, The newspaper had met several owners of businesses who have a storeful on the avenue des Hotels and Chemin Saint-Louis. All had launched the alert in relation to the repercussions of this important reconstruction project. They hoped to be compensated.
The ministry then clarified that, unlike Quebec City, it “does not have a financial compensation program for merchants who would have experienced disadvantages caused by the road works it performs”.
Invited to react to these new developments, the MTMD had not answered questions from Journal when writing these lines.
