Food With A Point

While we spend a lot of time perusing numerous grocery stores, gourmet shops and specialty stores seeking out products to make our lives more enjoyable, we should also acknowledge the importance of another very important commercial establishment - the neighbourhood dépanneur.

The dépanneur, or the convenience store for those who don’t live in Quebec, is an icon of youth (mr. freeze and 25 cent Styrofoam airplanes that never flew), a essential place for when cash flow is restricted and anything with an alcohol percentage will do (La caisse de Wildcat, seulement $18.99!) and a hub where most problems can be solved.

The American Heritage dictionary defines the convenience store as: “A small retail store that is open long hours and that typically sells staple groceries, snacks, and sometimes gasoline”. But it is so much more. It is a grocery store, a pharmacy, a home improvement store, a magazine stand, an office supplies purveyor and sometimes restaurant wrapped into one. It’s like a Dagwood sandwich: there’s nothing that isn’t in it. In light of these additional features, I have taken it upon myself to compile a more accurate definition of the dépanneur.

Dépanneur, of the root word dépanner. Dépanner means in colloquial terms, relief from the condition of being in IT deep. If you are in a position to say “on est dans marde” the dépanneur, like a super hero, is the only one who can help, and this, at all hours of the night or morning. Here are just some examples of situations that may require dépannage:

• Running out of beer at 10:59pm
• Not having enough charcoal for your illegal 2^nd floor balcony barbecue
• Realizing you haven’t read the latest edition of Allo Police
• Forgetting it’s your anniversary and it’s 10pm on a Monday night (can you say Baby Duck and red carnations?)
• Running out instant ramen noodles
• Replacing your dried-up glue stick 
• A cut finger that absolutely needs a Band-Aid that won't stay on for more than 10 minutes

There are two types of dépanneurs: the independently-owned or commercial chain. The independently-owned dépanneur has a certain charm that results from its poorly organized floor plan, cultural flavour imparted by the owners, and its ugly, hard to make out, often sponsored by a soft drink or chocolate bar, brand sign. The owners of these types of establishments customize their commercial locations to suit their local clientele and this is particularly reflected by the types of canned goods offered.

The commercial chain (Couche-Tard, for example) is like a supermarket. Every item is set up to ensure maximum exposure and facilitate consumption. At these types of locations, you do not have to climb over things to get to the beer fridge. And at these types of locations, there’s only beer in the beer fridge…

Today, I patronize Lee’s on Sherbrooke Street. She (I’m assuming Mrs. Lee) knows my beer preference, my favourite gum flavour and my lucky numbers. And before this, there was Perette’s on boulevard St-Rome in Brossard where my largest consumption of gummy bears took place, multiple Bazooka Joe’s were unwrapped in the quest for an original cartoon, and every flavour of Slush Puppy was sampled.

The dépanneur is like the ultimate silent partner – comfortable not being in the spotlight and always there to help you out. Imagine life without it? I’d rather not.