Bourassa: A Quite Attractive Formula

Tell me about a grocery store that welcomes you with a smile and hands you over a coat to shop!

A grocery store where the cheese section does not have refrigerated counters because it is the entire section that is chilled, customers included! A large refrigerator of 1000 square feet, or even more, which one enters through vertical strips of large plastic bands and which is maintained at 3 degrees Celsius permanently.

Apart from Costco for its dairy and vegetable section and Couche-Tard for its beer section, it is seldom to see such a configuration for these product categories. And this is only one of the peculiarities that distinguishes this grocery wholesaler from the competition.

There are only four in Quebec but be warned: go there once you are exposed to a serious addiction syndrome.

Of course, we are talking about the famous Bourassa food markets located in Mirabel, Saint-Sauveur-des-Monts, Sainte-Agathe and Mont-Tremblant.

This small chain of grocery wholesalers is not new: founded in Shawbridge in 1951, 66 years ago, the company is already in its 4th generation of owners/managers.

Well-established in the Laurentian region, the family has separated its stores: Serge and Micheline Bourassa run the St-Sauveur branch, Marc Bourassa, Saint-Agathe and Mirabel, while Stéphane Bourassa ensures the success of the Mont-Tremblant store, in addition to managing its own transportation company.

At Bourassa, “there are surprises under every aisles”, to quote the company’s words. Here they are in pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each supermarket, grocery store or convenience store develops its own style, its ways of doing things and its approach. The presentation of the products, the layout of the categories, the interior set-up, lighting … all contribute to create what is called “the shopping experience”.

By remaining faithful to its tradition, the grocery wholesaler Bourassa offers no more, no less than its authenticity, which is heartly felt and appreciated. The difference Bourassa brings to the food retail chain is fresh and distinctive. It probably still offers the best value on the market with regard to cheese at least, and that is already worth the detour.

It’s not bad for a chain that only runs four stores. It’s up to us, consumers, to take advantage of, and for other retailers, to take note of.