Ying Jia, Corner Store in La Petite Patrie (Web Site)

Photographer Dominique Lafond and reporter Judith Lussier met the Lu family in 2009 while criss-crossing the province to research a wide variety of owners of convenience stores—called dépanneurs in Quebec—for their book Sacré dépanneur! They were deeply moved at how this Chinese family had settled into the heart of the Petite Patrie neighbourhood, in their convenience store at the intersection of Rosemont Boulevard and de La Roche Street.

Although the name of the dépanneur has been changed to “Ying Jia”, its previous name can still be seen in the window and, inside, a photo of former owners Mr. and Mrs. Fiset, taken in the 1930s, takes us back to the corner stores of long ago. The Lu’s story reminds us that behind every dépanneur’s counter, a family’s history waits to be discovered.