Olives Et Café Noir

Amongst the entrepreneurs in the Petite Patrie neighbourhood are Charles and Julia, who took the reins of café and delicatessen Olives et Café Noir, on busier-by-the-minute Beaubien Street.

In 2011, the duo took over the already well-established institution. "When we chose to acquire it, everything was already in place, which made a lot of things much easier,” explains Charles, who had long dreamed of owning his own business. “When you get in business, it asks for a lot of investments. We were very happy ― and lucky ― that the store came fully equipped, ready for us to re-launch it."

"I studied business, and my idea was to open a tea salon in France,” Charles adds. “Tea salons are very popular there; in Montreal, this type of commerce is somewhat more rare. When we saw that Olives et Café Noir was up for grabs, we thought that its mission was pretty close to my original project’s, so we jumped on the opportunity."