[Moncton] Retail Thread

[Patapouf26]

Originally Posted by Acajack

St. Hubert doesn't sound like that much of a tongue-twister for even the most unilingual anglo.

My memory may be fading, but it's certainly the excuse I remember from that time (early 1990's). It may be as simple as the fact Swiss Chalet had the anglo market cornered and people weren't ready yo try the "french chicken".

Like MonctonRad said, Cara Foods has both markets now!

Btw, Renaud-Bray could also be an option. They also own Archambault.

St Hubert > Swiss Chalet

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Patapouf26

That's right, I forgot that they filed for bankruptcy protection... Scratch that one off!

It's too bad. We used to shop there when our kids were younger. They had really nice stuff.

Clément offers similar quality though, with a broader age range.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Patapouf26

My memory may be fading, but it's certainly the excuse I remember from that time (early 1990's). It may be as simple as the fact Swiss Chalet had the anglo market cornered and people weren't ready yo try the "french chicken".

Like MonctonRad said, Cara Foods has both markets now!

Btw, Renaud-Bray could also be an option. They also own Archambault.

St Hubert > Swiss Chalet

They have Swiss Chalet across the river in Ottawa but I haven't been to one in over 20 years.

I guess you just get used to stuff and I am used to St-Hubert: their sauce, cole slaw (crémeuse ou traditionnelle? les deux!), desserts like sugar pie and pouding chômeur...

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Patapouf26

As well as it shouldn't (logically) especially if what you say below is true. The only example I can really think of is when I was a kid living Saint John. There was a St. Hubert on Rothesay avenue. It eventually closed - rumour was because it had a french name and that the average Joe or Jane couldn't pronounce it. Then, in 2013, two express locations in the same city closed down.

Pronounciation isn't the problem - people just won't support French things.

They tried their best, too. Radio ads they ran in town used an Anglo pronunciation of Hubert (HUE-BURT), but no dice.

Quebec brands can survive in Moncton far better than in SJ. I guess the reason why something like Dollarama survives is because nobody has any idea it's from Quebec.

I have no doubt a Simons would do well in Moncton. As would a SAIL.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Pronounciation isn't the problem - people just won't support French things.

They tried their best, too. Radio ads they ran in town used an Anglo pronunciation of Hubert (HUE-BURT), but no dice.

.

They seem to have given that up now, and a recent ad I heard for them in English referred to "saint yew-bair". It was on an Ottawa station.

I think all of their locations outside Quebec now are in places with a good number of francophones. They used to have a far wider reach, down in the GTA for example.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by Acajack

They seem to have given that up now, and a recent ad I heard for them in English referred to "saint yew-bair". It was on an Ottawa station.

Obviously in Ottawa you can get away with French pronunciations of things.

This was a distinctly SJ radio ad. Seemed like a last ditch effort. I had heard people around town talking about not going there because they were French and from Quebec and it showed.

[Taeolas]

Yeah, St Hubert seems to be surviving well in the parts of NB with stronger French ties, like Moncton and Freddy. SJ was always going to be an uphill battle; one that I believe was ultimately lost. I don't know about any other locations and how they are doing, but I do believe it is expanding into Bathurst? And it is in Edmundston now too. I would expect it to do well in Grand Falls if it isn't already there.

Beyond Quebec, NB and Francophone Ontario (like Ottawa), I don't think St Hubert has really gained any traction; and now that Cara owns both rotisserie chicken places, I doubt we'll see it expanding much further into AngloCanada than it already has. Nor will Chalet Suisse likely expand much more in Quebec than it already has. Freddy and Moncton will probably remain in a small set of cities/locations that have both SC and SH restaurants.

[Acajack]

St-Hubert has four locations in Ontario. Three in Ottawa: one on St-Laurent Blvd. in the east end near the museum of science and technology. Another in the eastern suburb of Orleans and what looks like a new express counter in the south end (Hunt Club).

They also have one in Cornwall which is along the 401 about half an hour from the Quebec border (maybe a 25-30% francophone city?) I am pretty sure they had some in northern Ontario (Sudbury? Timmins?) at one point but they've closed.

Chalet Suisse (Swiss Chalet) tried its luck in Quebec at one point but that was quite some time ago. 20 years or so? They don't have any locations in this province AFAIK.

[ErickMontreal]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Obviously in Ottawa you can get away with French pronunciations of things.

This was a distinctly SJ radio ad. Seemed like a last ditch effort. I had heard people around town talking about not going there because they were French and from Quebec and it showed.

This is utterly backwater but it does not really surprise me one bit.

By the way, I have never head anybody in Quebec saying they would not support Pharmaprix/ Loblaw/ Giant Tiger/Equipeur (...) because they are from the ROC.

I wish Peter Simons, a genuine human being and anglophone by the way, set up shop in Moncton so I could spend my money on Quebec retail store... sigh.

[L'homard]

I couldn't possibly care less where my stores/chicken restaurants are based.
Value and price trumps everything at my house. And rightly so.

[Scarface]

Originally Posted by L'homard

I couldn't possibly care less where my stores/chicken restaurants are based.
Value and price trumps everything at my house. And rightly so.

Fortunatly for companies there are so many who think the same way as you do.
Unfortunatly there are way more who put an hold on wether, or not the place is frnech, or english.

I have a lot of friends who live in English speaking Canada who I've brought to St Hubert when they come to visit, and now they wish they would have one before Cara took it over. Nowthey know there is practically no chance.

[Varlik]

Originally Posted by JHikka

Pronounciation isn't the problem - people just won't support French things.

They tried their best, too. Radio ads they ran in town used an Anglo pronunciation of Hubert (HUE-BURT), but no dice.

Quebec brands can survive in Moncton far better than in SJ. I guess the reason why something like Dollarama survives is because nobody has any idea it's from Quebec.

I have no doubt a Simons would do well in Moncton. As would a SAIL.

I don't think that being french had any impact on St Hubert failing in SJ. While it's convenient to say that, it overshadows some very bad business decisions that were made, including the following.

First, they entered a market with an established full service Swiss Chalet restaurant but for some reason decided to open a cafeteria style restaurant without a full menu. People won't change their habits just because something is different, especially if it is inferior (I don't mean inferior quality or value, but smaller menu and no table service). Target learned this lesson as well.

Second, they decided to open 2 restaurants in the SJ area at the same time. They should have opened one restaurant first to see how things went. Expecting to have 2 profitable restaurants in what was a rather short timeframe was foolish.

I believe that if they had opened one full service restaurant in SJ it would be doing fine. Categorizing it as a french/english thing is lazy. The Jean Coutu that opened here seems to be doing fine.

[Ire Narissis]

I liked the Saint-Hubert Express and was disappointed to see it go. And I concur that it would've probably been better positioned as a full sit-down location as opposed to what it was.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Varlik

I don't think that being french had any impact on St Hubert failing in SJ. While it's convenient to say that, it overshadows some very bad business decisions that were made, including the following.

First, they entered a market with an established full service Swiss Chalet restaurant but for some reason decided to open a cafeteria style restaurant without a full menu. People won't change their habits just because something is different, especially if it is inferior (I don't mean inferior quality or value, but smaller menu and no table service). Target learned this lesson as well.

Second, they decided to open 2 restaurants in the SJ area at the same time. They should have opened one restaurant first to see how things went. Expecting to have 2 profitable restaurants in what was a rather short timeframe was foolish.

I believe that if they had opened one full service restaurant in SJ it would be doing fine. Categorizing it as a french/english thing is lazy. The Jean Coutu that opened here seems to be doing fine.

Maybe, maybe not. Our Great National Drama has had its ups and downs over the years. We're in a pretty quiet period right now.

[OUIR@random]

I'm no moderator, but we should get back on topic anyway...
This St-Hubert est français and Swiss Chalet is English is ridiculous.

[Scarface]

Any update on the Building replacing Centenial Shakers on Saint George Blvd?

[Hubbub]

Anybody know what’s going on with both Burrito Jax locations ? They’ve both been closed since last week and by the look of the internal emergency lights in the NWC location, the power must’ve been cut.

I can’t confirm, but have heard power was cut on Main St too. But, their sign on the door says equipment repairs, or something like that

[MonctonRad]

Not the first time they've been having trouble paying bills. Sounds like they're in their death throws.

I went on the Plaza REIT website the other week. It listed the NW Centre location as being "vacant".

[Hubbub]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Not the first time they've been having trouble paying bills. Sounds like they're in their death throws.

I went on the Plaza REIT website the other week. It listed the NW Centre location as being "vacant".

Yah. I heard a rumour that back in Nov, the locksmith was there to change the locks but the owner showed up in time to pay the back rent. But, the staff supposedly didn’t get paid that Friday.

It goes to show that too much competition is not always good, for new entrepreneur. Great for the consumer, but with crazy rent, prop taxes, food costs, and ever increasing labour costs, it’s hard to make a living.

[Hubbub]

Originally Posted by Scarface

Any update on the Building replacing Centenial Shakers on Saint George Blvd?

Owner is my neighbour. Will check into it.