Residents of Rivière-Pentecôte will soon find their local service again. A couple from Sept-Îles bought the old Coop building to once again open a convenience store in the village.
Rivière-Pentecôte has found itself without any business since the end of January. The Coopérative Dépanneur le Riverain announced at the beginning of the year the closure of the convenience store located on rue des Pionniers due to bankruptcy.
Karim El Mongi and Geneviève Heppell decided to embark on this project as a family. They renamed the convenience store KGS, for the three family first names (Karim, Geneviève and Sofia, their daughter).
Co-owner Geneviève Heppell explained to macotenord.com that it is above all a family project. “We have a chalet in Rivière-Pentecôte. We found it sad that the business was closing its doors. So we said why not. And we wanted to do a family project with our daughter, so we went for it! »
It’s like a pre-retirement plan. We imagine ourselves doing just that in a few years
Genevieve Heppell
The couple has never owned a convenience store, but they are not jumping into the void. The father is a property manager and personnel management is not new to them. “My husband had businesses. We have both always been in personnel management. What’s new for us is the convenience store itself! »
No significant changes
The reopening is hoped for this Friday, May 3. This is a short deadline for the new owners who have not yet made any major changes. “We recovered the furniture and fridges from the convenience store. The staff was also taken over. For the moment we are resuming services as they were before the closure,” adds Ms. Heppell.
The couple was helped in particular by Marie-Ève Ricard, who was already manager of the previous convenience store.
The priority was to open quickly, says Ms. Heppell. “We have ideas for later, but for now we have focused on a rapid reopening to offer essential services to the population. But we plan to innovate, that’s for sure. » She still highlights the addition of an ATM counter in the convenience store.
Good news for the mayor
The mayor of Port-Cartier, who is also a resident of Pentecost, is delighted with the news. “I am happy with the outcome of all this. The return of local service will allow the population of the sector to avoid traveling long distances,” he underlines in an interview.
The fear of the Port-Cartois elected official was that a buyer would decide not to keep the convenience store. “The buyers wanted to keep the purpose of the building, which is very good. I wish them the best of luck for the future. »
During the bankruptcy, the commercial building which houses the convenience store was put up for sale for $319,000 and the furniture for $41,000.
