Market Fresh (or called Marché Frais in French) was a

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region and is part of Canada's N ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

-based

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

chain which specialized in fresh food products including fruits, vegetables, dairy, breads, and prepared-products including some meat. The company was founded in 1991 by Gatineau area businessman Jean-Luc Brazeau. While the first years of operations were concentrated in the

Outaouais Outaouais (, ; also commonly called The Outaouais) is a region of western Quebec, Canada. It includes the city of Gatineau, the municipality of Val-des-Monts and the Papineau region. Geographically, it is located on the north side of the Ottawa ...

side of the

National Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

, stores were later opened all across Ottawa until 2004. After enjoying some success, especially in the Outaouais in which it won an award from the Outaouais Chamber of Commerce in 1996, the company started to endure several financial difficulties most notably due to the fierce competition by local business

Farm Boy Farm Boy Inc. is a Canadian food retailer operating in the province of Ontario. The company is based in Ottawa, Ontario. The retailer markets itself as selling fresh produce and food products, with an emphasis in their branding on farm-to-table. ...

which sells similar products. By the start of 2006, Market Fresh decided to concentrate its activities once again in Gatineau only due to decreasing profits from the

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

stores. All stores, including the newest ones in Kanata and

Bayshore Shopping Centre Bayshore Shopping Centre is a major shopping mall located in the Nepean district of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The mall is one of the busiest in the National Capital Region as it attracts almost 8 million visitors per year from across the city and ...

, were closed before the year ended. The Bayshore location, which filled some of the gap left by the former

Les Ailes de la Mode Les Ailes de la Mode Inc. was a Quebec department store chain. Its flagship store was in downtown Montreal and was the anchor tenant of the Complexe Les Ailes. Les Ailes de la Mode also subleased a section of their department stores to Bowring B ...

store, was opened for 14 months, while the Kanata location was opened for an even shorter period. Stores that opened in 1998 at

St. Laurent Shopping Centre St. Laurent Centre (French: ''Centre St-Laurent'') is a shopping mall located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is owned and operated by Morguard, Morguard REIT. The shopping mall is located just north of Highway 417 (Ontario), Highway 417 at the co ...

and

Place d'Orleans Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

as well as the first Ottawa store in Vanier and the Bank Street location were also affected. Workers were only informed one day prior to the closure. A criminal fire destroyed its

Aylmer Aylmer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Edward Aylmer, Welsh MP * Edward Aylmer (cricketer), first-class cricketer and Royal Navy officer * Felix Aylmer, English stage actor * Sir Fenton Aylmer, 13th Baronet, British Army ...

store in 2005 but it re-opened several months later. However, like the Ottawa stores, it was closed on January 2, 2008, for financial reasons. In 2006, the company faced

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

but avoided it after an offer was accepted and kept its current four Gatineau stores open for business, saving over 200 jobs in the region. The last remaining store in Gatineau closed down in 2012.

References

External links

Marché Frais website
{{Canadian Supermarkets Supermarkets of Canada Retail companies established in 1991 Companies based in Ottawa 1991 establishments in Quebec

See also

References

External links