The latest owners of a family-run institution in Portage-du-Fort are full steam ahead as they experiment with a new roster of locally made suds to satisfy their regular customers.
Four years into running Depanneur Thompson, Martin Herault says the corner store has filled all sorts of roles as it passed through the decades, serving the community as everything from a paint store to a post office and eventually the corner store that bears his in-law family’s name.
While he admits that the store never experienced a situation quite like watching all kinds of American beer imports disappearing from their fridge due to ongoing trade disputes with the U.S., his research into replacements for the familiar brews has brought his clientele so many new favourites that he’s not likely to go back to the old selection, even if the situation with the States improves.
Herault explains that each day under the tariffs is a new challenge, but there is such a strong sentiment from the community to not be victims of bully tactics from the south that customers have largely been on board with discovering new options, both locally and abroad.