Le Maitre Gourmet

You could call Le Maître Gourmet the quintessential neighbourhood store. The small butcher shop not only specializes in home-grown meats straight from the farm, but also has a wide variety of healthy, organic grocery items, as well as a selection of delicious, affordable prepared meals, and salads and sandwiches made fresh daily. What really sets the shop apart, however, is the personal connections forged with each transaction. Owner Yanick Paquette enjoys chatting with his clients, asking how they enjoyed the lamb they bought last week, or simply eliciting a chuckle from a groggy customer popping in for an energizing kombucha.

These are not just Yanick’s clients, they are his neighbours as well. “I don’t live far from here,” he says. “It’s where I live, here at the store and at home. I’d have trouble living any other way. Being involved socially, with a business this size, is important. There’s a proximity with the residents. Those who shop here know me, and I like that approach.”