Third Wave Coffee and Artisanal Wine Come to Small Town Quebec

Over the past few years, coffeeshops that also sell wine have become more and more popular in Quebec. While the trend began in Montreal with places like Paquebot Café, Café DAX, or Lapin Pressé, it has since taken root in other, smaller Quebecois towns.

Consider, for example, Louisa Café de Quartier, located in Bois-des-Filions, on Montreal’s North Shore, which opened its doors in 2020. The owners, Charles Francis and Virginie Lamontagne, were living in Montreal, but decided to move closer to their family after the birth of their first child.

The idea of opening a café took shape when Lamontagne and Francis “fell in love” with the location, which resides at the convergence of three small towns: Bois-des-Filions, Lorraine and Sainte-Thérèse. Their clientele is mainly composed of young families and grandparents living in the three kilometers surrounding the coffeeshop. “Like us, they care about the quality of the products,” Francis said in an interview with LoopNet.

The couple wanted to recreate the third wave coffeeshop concept popular in Montreal, but on the North Shore. “We tried to find something that catered to that need, and instead of continuing to look for it, we decided to create it in this space, which is really close to our [home],” explained Francis.

When it first opened, Louisa Café de Quartier was essentially a small counter for coffee and lunch, but during the pandemic, the co-owners added a wine selection. “It was more and more popular in Montreal, and we thought that we should do research and bring the concept to the North Shore,” added Francis. “It’s a response to the pandemic, in order to diversify our offer.” The co-owners were inspired by other third wave coffeeshops like Café Paquebot.

There was no third wave coffeeshop in Victoriaville either, so brother and sister Vincent and Audrey Métivier opened one in November 2021. Originally from Victoriaville, they lived in Montreal when the pandemic began.

The siblings first looked for spaces to rent in Montreal, but it was during a visit to their parents in Victoriaville that they saw a business opportunity downtown, where not much was happening. “There was demand, but no offer,” said Audrey Métivier.

So, like Lamontagne and Francis, they decided to relocate closer to family and open a café in Victoriaville, where rents are cheaper than in Montreal. In addition to the decreased rental rate, the other benefit was the lack of competition: Lewis Café is still the only establishment offering third wave coffee and imported wines in town.

The Métivier siblings found the downtown location through the owners of l’Hermite microbrewery, whom they met during their search. After leaving their rented space to buy a building in downtown Victoriaville, the owners of the microbrewery called Vincent and Audrey to offer them the opportunity to lease the commercial space next door, previously a travel agency, which is part of the same property as the brewery.

Since the space was not built out for a coffeeshop, numerous renovations were required to transform the location. Surface areas were stripped, floors were sanded, the counter was built and more. One of the co-owners of the microbrewery helped with electricity, courtesy of his expertise as an electrical engineer.

“We knew what we wanted, but we were mostly making decisions one day at a time,” noted Audrey Métivier. She estimates the improvement costs at about 20,000 to 22,000 Canadian dollars (US$15,352 to US$16,889).

Lewis Café benefited from an aid package for commercial development and interior building renovations from the City of Victoriaville. The co-founders benefited from a grant covering 50% of their rent for the first year, 30% for the second year and 20% for the third year.

The decor was inspired by the siblings’ grandmother’s basement. “We chose warm colors like beige and burnt orange. There is a lot of wood as well,” explained Audrey Métivier. They wanted to create a cozy space where people could spend a few hours.

Louisa’s space formerly housed a restaurant that offered pizzas, gyros, poutine and the like. The owner of the building committed to providing an empty shell that would be functional for the renters, so the walls, the plumbing, the bathroom, and the electricity were all refurbished at the owner’s expense.

Lamontagne and Francis hired a contractor to redo the kitchen and to restructure the table configuration. “Aesthetically, it has to be pretty, because we not only sell coffee or wine, but an experience and a community in our little coffeeshop,” explained Francis.

Both co-owners that LoopNet interviewed are on the same page; they say that the coffee and wine offer attracts a larger clientele than a simple coffeeshop. “We are seeking two different types of clientele,” explained Métivier. “Some have a passion for coffee and make their coffee in various ways at home, whereas others are wine afficionados and they love to discover wines that they wouldn’t find at SAQ, for instance.”

At Louisa Café de Quartier, Francis explained that they love to work with import agencies specializing in natural and biodynamic wines. At Lewis Café, Audrey Métivier has a soft spot for wines from unlikely countries, such as Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Japan and Mexico.

To price wine bottles, every coffee and wine shop has its own strategy, but in the case of both coffeeshops interviewed, the model is similar. Lewis Café sells more wine bottles to go than to drink on the premises, so Métivier strives for reasonable pricing; she usually adds CA$10 to CA$14 per bottle.

At Louisa Café de Quartier, wines are to-go only, due to a lack of seating, and they add a maximum of CA$10 to all the bottles that they sell. “Our goal is not to sell big quantities, but rather to make people discover wines that we love and that we are passionate about,” explained Francis.

Both coffee and wine shops interviewed have a restaurant license, which allows them to sell a bottle to go with any food item cooked on the premises. For on-site consumption, clients do not have to order food, but the kitchen must be open.

Besides the diversified offer, both coffee and wine shops interviewed are becoming increasingly popular due to their location and their community. “The space, the convergence of the three cities, and the neighborhood spirit are the common threads,” explained Francis.

When it comes to Lewis Café, being in downtown Victoriaville, and having a popular microbrewery as a neighbor, are two factors to the café’s success. “We are complementary [to l’Hermite] in terms of offer and opening hours. We do lunch, coffee, and wine, and they focus on dinner and beer, so nobody steps on each other’s toes. There is something for everyone.”

While Vincent and Audrey Métivier had a loyal clientele from the beginning, some other clients were getting out of their comfort zone by stepping into Lewis Café. “They just have to come in one time, and afterwards, we see them all of the time,” explained Audrey Métivier.

Besides humans, dogs are also welcome at Lewis Café, which is named after the siblings’ dog, Lewis. “We are seeking a clientele who loves going for a walk with their dogs,” she added.

“While I was a teacher in Montreal, I would spend days in coffeeshops to do marking, so it was this kind of ambiance I was looking to recreate with our café.”