Market Fresh
Encyclopedia
Gatineau
Gatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
-based supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
chain which is mainly specialized in fresh food products including fruits, vegetables, dairy and breads as well as 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 side of the National Capital Region
National Capital Region (Canada)
The National Capital Region, also referred to as Canada's Capital Region, is an official federal designation for the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario, the neighbouring city of Gatineau, Quebec, and surrounding urban and rural communities....
, 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 grocery and retail giants such as Costco
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
, Loeb
Loeb (supermarket)
Loeb was a Canadian supermarket chain in Eastern Ontario. It is owned by Quebec's Metro chain of grocery stores. It was once Ottawa's second-largest supermarket chain behind Loblaws. Each of the stores averaged in size...
, Loblaws
Loblaws
Loblaws is a supermarket chain with over 70 stores in Canada, headquartered in Brampton, with stores across Ontario and Quebec. Loblaws is a division of Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada's largest food distributor...
as well as another local business Farm Boy
Farm Boy
Farm Boy is an Ottawa, Canada based Eastern Ontario regional supermarket chain that sells primarily fresh produce, baked goods, organic foods, dairy, deli, meat, fish and some prepared products including a private label line...
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
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
stores. All stores, including the newest ones in Kanata
Kanata, Ontario
Situated in the Ottawa Valley, Kanata is located about west-southwest of Downtown Ottawa along Highway 417 at a latitude of 45°18' North and a longitude of 75°55' West, with an area of . Its northern end is just to the west of the Ottawa River....
and Bayshore Shopping Centre
Bayshore Shopping Centre
Bayshore Shopping Centre is a major shopping mall located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, more specifically in the former city of Nepean, Ontario. The mall is one of the busiest in the National Capital Region as it attracts about 7 million visitors per year from across the city and the surrounding...
, 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
Les Ailes de la mode is a Canadian retail store chain. Its flagship store is in downtown Montreal and is the anchor tenant of the Complexe Les Ailes....
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 Shopping Centre
St. Laurent Shopping Centre is a major shopping centre located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada owned and operated by Morguard REIT. The shopping mall is located just north of Highway 417 at the corner of St. Laurent Boulevard and Coventry Road. It opened its doors in 1967.St...
and Place d'Orleans
Place d'Orleans
Place d'Orléans is a large shopping mall in the eastern end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in the community of Orléans. The property is about . It currently holds three large department stores and about 175 small shops, including a food court...
as well as the first Ottawa store in Vanier
Vanier, Ontario
-External links:**...
and the Bank Street
Bank Street (Ottawa)
Bank Street is the major north-south road in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It runs south from Wellington Street in downtown Ottawa, south through the neighbourhoods of Centretown, The Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Alta Vista, Hunt Club, and then through the villages of Blossom Park, Leitrim, South...
location were also affected. Workers were only informed one day prior to the closure..
Additionally, a criminal fire destroyed its Aylmer
Aylmer, Quebec
Aylmer is a former city in Quebec, Canada. It became a sector of the City of Gatineau on January 1, 2002. Located on the Ottawa River and Route 148 it is a part of the National Capital Region. The population in 2006 was 41 882 — approx. 16% of Gatineau...
store in 2005 but was later re-opened several months later. However, like the Ottawa stores, it was closed on January 2, 2008 due to financial reasons.
In 2006, the company faced bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
but did avoid it after an offer was accepted and kept its current four Gatineau stores open for business saving over 200 jobs in the region.