Residents in the Vimont district of Laval are lamenting the loss of their neighbourhood mall, which was gutted by fire on Monday.
The commercial mall at 2775 René-Laennec Blvd. included a Boni-Soir dépanneur, Pâtisserie Boulangerie Vimont bakery, Crèmerie Choco Vanille ice-cream shop and the Streakz Coiffure hair salon.
The hair salon was owned by a woman with ties to the Montreal Mafia whose other Laval salon was firebombed last week.
While the cause of the blaze is still under investigation, the mall was fenced off Tuesday as workers began the task of removing debris from the site.
Local resident Richard Perey said he was disheartened to see his favourite neighbourhood mall burned to the ground.
“I’ve known this place since I was little,” said 19-year-old Perey, who liked to buy candies from the dépanneur as a child.
“I am kind of sad because it was a place that’s been there a long time.”
“The Boni-Soir was popular,” he added. “It’s about the only one around here. The crèmerie (ice-cream shop) was popular in the summer, as well,” Perey added.
Catherine Verardo of Montreal said the mall was a popular hangout for teenagers in the summer.
“It’s really sad,” 19-year-old Verardo said of the fire-ravaged mall.
“I have a lot of friends living in this neighbourhood. We were always hanging around the crèmerie during the summer. It was somewhere where everyone went even though I’m not from there,” she said.
Perey said he feels for the people who’ve subsequently lost their jobs.
He said the Boni-Soir hired people who were intellectually challenged to work in the store.
“The dépanneur was very inclusive with people with mental (challenges),” Perey said. “It was a very good thing for them (to find work here) and now they’ve lost their jobs. It’s sad.”
Verardo said the mall was a hub for locals.
“Because it was so small, it was maybe not family-like, but you were comfortable coming here.”
Another local resident said the Pâtisserie Boulangerie Vimont, which made Italian and French baked goods, was a popular bakery in Laval.
“Their tomato pizza was very good,” said Diane Boisvert. “People came from Fabreville, all over Laval, for the pizza. It was that good.”
Boisvert, who’s lived in the area since 1991, said nearby residents liked the fact they could walk to the neighbourhood mall.
Resident Loretta Cyr said Vimont is a relatively quiet area, so news of the suspicious fire came as a shock.
“It’s sad because a lot students worked in the mall and now they’ve lost their jobs,” Cyr said.
