Save Le Marché St. George! Neighbour complaints may force local gem to close its doors
Wow…it’s lovely to see the Grinch is alive and well in Vancouver. Le Marché St. George is one of my favourite spots in our beautiful neighbourhood. With everything from local eggs and honey, to probably the best pain au chocolat this side of the Sienne, I cannot imagine why anyone would gripe about having such a wonderful, warm spot on their block. Alas, someone has filed a complaint with the City of Vancouver.
According the Le Marché’s Facebook page:
Because of the complaints of a single neighbour, the city may be forced to revoke our seating permit and ability to do most of the things we love to do, essentially resulting in our closure.
Seriously? How negatively can one’s life be impacted by a small, beautiful, community café and artisanal store?
//giphy.com/embed/M0VKc8cYGeFjiSeriously…get a life.
Anyway – I believe in the good of the majority of us and I believe that we can have an impact on keeping the doors of this vital community hub open. On its website, The City of Vancouver states their objective is to “…create a city of neighbourhoods where people can work, play, and shop.” They also say they want to “…create urban environments where residents feel supported and engaged, and can enjoy a vibrant street life and their fellow residents.”
Le Marché St. George does all of these things. It brings community together, supports local artisans and farmers and provides a place where people feel engaged and connected. It would be a shame for the grumblings of one Grinch to take this away from everyone else who enjoys it. The café has been featured in numerous publications including Canadian House and Home, the New York Times, and Monocle Magazine. Pascal Roy and his wife, Janaki Larsen are the shop-owners. They have also renovated the building to include housing above the store (the decor here should really be featured on its own – stunning). Le Marché is a communal, family-based business where the goal, “has never been about making money.” Roy states, “our concept is to carry the best Vancouver has to offer, so we carry local foods, we have farmers framing our land (and) we have beehives.”
If you want to support Le Marche – please write to the City of Vancouver or sign this petition. Your voice counts!!
the thirties grind 
Please get your facts straight. The complainant isn’t a ‘grinch’, they are a visually impaired person who asked LMSG to keep the sidewalk clear for them. Which by their own admittance they failed, leading a city inspector to discover they are operating with incorrect licensing for their business.
Source: Their own FB page.
“Yes our neighbor is going blind and we have tried to work with her about keeping the side walk clear with signage and asking patrons to move things blocking but apparently let it slip after 5 years, ”
“Yes we admit to breaking bylaws but it’s the only way we where able to do something different and unique.”
I’m all for building communities, but bullying a disabled person by calling them ‘Grinch’ is not how to do so.
Thank you for the feedback. The reporting on this was, indeed, pretty one-sided until more information came out. I did write a follow up post, which can be viewed here.