Even though a fire made its owners fear the worst, La Vieille Europe is preparing to celebrate its 65th anniversary. Last Tuesday, the front door of the famous delicatessen on Main was still boarded up, but customers were flocking as usual.
When Paulo Raimundo arrived on the scene in the middle of the night and saw the dozens of firefighters at work, he never would have believed that the business on Saint-Laurent Boulevard that he owns with two other friends from Portuguese origin could reopen soon. “It was a disaster,” says one of the three co-owners of the grocery store.
Steve Da Silva, also a co-owner with Nelson Santos, shows us photos on his phone of the two upstairs offices that were devastated by the flames and all the debris that erupted onto the ground floor. “Thanks to employees, neighbors and friends, we managed to clean up the damage and reopen 27 hours later,” he explains with relief, specifying that he does not yet know the cause of the fire that occurred on November 10.
The stucco ceilings, the wooden furniture, the coffee roasting machine: everything is still there, not to mention the approximately 5,000 products on the shelves. “We have always found it important to keep the old character. We have very long-term customers and we don’t want them to be disoriented,” emphasizes Steve Da Silva.
On January 1st, it will be 24 years since Steve Da Silva co-owned La Vieille Europe. “My father was there 17 years before me. »
But let’s go back even further in time, to 1959. Originally, a Jewish couple, the Litvaks, opened what was once called the Old Europe Meat Market. Thirteen years later, when business was bad, a trusted employee, Jose Castanheira, offered to restore the butcher’s image. He then became an owner.
Steve Da Silva and Nelson Santos’ fathers took over, and then their sons did the same. The latter then convinced their friend Paulo Raimundo to become their partner, while the latter had to go work as a… physiotherapist in California!
A fire in the late 1970s allowed La Vieille Europe to double its size. Last week’s event made Steve Da Silva fear the worst. “During the fire, I almost had tears in my eyes. I said to myself: but what am I going to do? »
It took flames, he confides, to rekindle the one he felt towards the business of which he became co-owner in his early twenties, more by force of circumstances than by vocation.
Paulo Raimundo, for his part, began working at La Vieille Europe despite himself. “My family lived in the neighborhood. One day, my mother took me by the hand without telling me where we were going. When we arrived at La Vieille Europe, where she often came to do shopping, she asked the boss if he needed someone to help her. »
La Vieille Europe is a grocery store on Main that many Portuguese families frequented when the neighborhood was nicknamed Little Portugal.
Silvia has been an employee of La Vieille Europe for over 30 years. “Since October 4, 1993,” explains the one who served us an excellent Italian cappuccino as we like them.
Silvia is very attached to the Main and the old Portuguese quarter. “I came to Canada when I was 15. I had no friends and I didn’t speak French. I missed Portugal, so this is where I felt at home. »
“The Hand is like family,” adds Steve Da Silva.
For many people, La Vieille Europe is a reassuring presence on Saint-Laurent Boulevard. Maybe even more so since the Main Deli closed last May.
One thing is certain: it is dangerous to enter Old Europe on an empty stomach. There are nearly 250 kinds of cheeses, cold meats, and some 5,000 rare and sought-after products. Local and imported products, including German Stollen Christmas fruitcakes and Portuguese Serra Valmadeiros sheep cheese. It’s also panettone season!
La Vieille Europe is one of the first places in Quebec where coffee was roasted on site. “It was avant-garde and we still sell a lot of coffee,” says Steve Da Silva.
While we were chatting with Paulo Raimundo, a loyal customer asked him if we could already order the port-infused stilton cheese (on site). We took care at the cash register to write down his name and telephone number to call him back when the time comes.
We should not forget one important aspect: the relationship that has been created at La Vieille Europe with long-term customers.
