The rue Saint-Joseph, new Grande-Allée?

Mathieu Belanger/JOURNAL OF QUEBEC/QMI AGENCY

Marjorie Champagne

Thursday, 1 march, 2018 09:07

UPDATE
Thursday, 1 march, 2018 09:07

Look at this article

It is confirmed, the premises of the deceased Circle will be occupied by the Shaker Kitchen and Mixology. This chain of restaurant bar “specialising in cocktails, tartares and burgers gourmets, in a setting of industrial chic”. The restaurant in the lower town will be the 11th in the chain, and rumor has it that the show room adjacent turns into a bar at song The Little Frog.

I live in and frequent the district of Saint-Roch since the beginning of the years 2000. At the time, I was studying at the School of visual arts of Laval University and I lived in Saint-Jean-Baptiste because the area at the bottom of the cap was scary. It was the time of the bikers.

The only place that we hung out together, we small student from the suburbs, was the mail St-Roch (to buy materials) and the bar the Scanner. All the rest of my student life was going on in the upper town, more precisely in the district of Saint-Jean-Baptiste.

One day, a small consortium of people had the brilliant idea of opening an art gallery in the local area that will later be occupied by The Circle. Decked out in a mini-bar, several artists of all disciplines are brought together to meet and share ideas. The young wildlife creative of Saint-Roch had finally found a refuge.

This place was very fertile, because a few years later, a group of young people associated dynamic took place to create The Circle. For the majority of people who live in the suburbs, The Circle was a nice place and original where we could eat and go see a good show. For the people of the central districts, and especially for the artists, it was a real laboratory, an epicenter, or even a place reassuring, but fun.

I remember Fred, who knew the name of his clients by heart, restless, hyperactive on two legs, he greeted everyone personally: “Hey, Marjo, just sit, will it? I will introduce you the choreographer of sick!” And the chemistry worked. Rare are the private institutions that were intended to boost actually the cultural life (in the broad sense) of a district, but also of the whole city.

How many projects are born on the corner of a table of the Circle?

The Circle embarked in the most original projects, its walls were lined with artwork and even its basement was occupied by initiatives theatre emerging, DJ local, etc to The venue, main hosted groups of local music, but also groups of stars. The birthdays of the Circle were memorable!

Enough of the nostalgia, The Circle has really helped to change the image of the city of Quebec in the eyes of many, particularly within the artistic community of Montreal. How many times have I heard: “It moves so ben in Quebec city with The Circle, it has almost the taste of come and settle among you.” I remember the intention of the mayor to create a retention basin, artistic creators here. The Circle has contributed greatly.

With the announcement of its sale to the group of The Shaker and the possible arrival of a Small Frog, it is all local synergy that we lose. The homogenization of the local shops is sad, because it attracts people who do not live on site, who come and who go.

These citizens from most of the suburbs contribute to fill the coffers of the owners of the shops, but does nothing to help revitalize the neighborhood, create the meeting with the humans who occupy the territory on which they come only spend.

Similar to the Grande-Allée.

I have nothing against the Grande-Allée, but one is enough. A small Walt Disney per city is enough, no?

We are so formatted by the economic imperatives that most people will say that it is good for the neighborhood, that will bring tourists. But that will remain there for the citizens of the district of Saint-Roch? I feel that the migration to Saint-Sauveur will accelerate.

Otherwise, you may have noticed that the entries from cities all resemble each other in Quebec? Awful boulevards that takes you past a Wall-Mart, Canadian Tire and other warts urban?

Ben in Quebec city, it seems that it is taking the lead pis that we extend it to the city centre.