Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue grocery store reopening with new owner

Town's only grocery store set to reopen Paola Hawa, mayor of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, explains the impact of her town getting back its only grocery store.

The only grocery store in a West Island community is set to reopen after a months-long closure.

Marché Richelieu in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue suddenly shut its doors in January.

On Wednesday, the city's mayor told CTV News the store’s previous owners had gone bankrupt and that a new owner had purchased the store.

Paola Hawa says the new store will remain under the Metro Inc. umbrella but renamed "Ami Plus." It’s expected to open near the end of May.

"It’s the best news we’ve had in a long, long time," she said.

Right now, the closest grocery store is in Baie-D’Urfe, a five-minute drive but a 50-minute walk.

The closure has been difficult for the community, including many seniors and students who don’t have cars, says Hawa.

"It really touches the community store from A to Z," she said, adding volunteers have stepped up to offer people rides to grocery stores.

Hawa says the bankruptcy trustee received several bids to take over the store, but the winning bid came from Claude McSween.

She says McSween has experience managing grocery stores in small communities and is confident the grocery store will succeed.

With files from CTV Montreal's Lillian Roy