The Coffret de l’imagination in Coaticook has been put up for sale, as 62-year-old owner Mona Riendeau and her daughter, Mélissa Tardif, have decided to move on after 21 years of service.
Tardif was in good spirits on Friday when she spoke to The Record. Her family is confident in its decision to sell the property and make way for new, innovative restauranteurs in the region. However, Tardif noted that they will stay open until they officially find someone to take over.
“We’re going to stay open, that’s the difference between us and the others. My mother and I, we’re going to stay open and we have a very, very nice team. Our employees are all up-to-date on this situation and they have decided to accompany us until the very end,” said Tardif.
The Coffret de l’imagination joins a long list — and one that seemingly continues to grow every week — of restaurants closing in Coaticook. The reasons have ranged from crippling pandemic debt to struggling to attract customers into the downtown core. But that isn’t the case here.
Tardif told The Record that they were doing fine financially throughout the pandemic. The government provided enough support to keep the restaurant from shutting down. The decision to sell basically came down to giving her mother a break, and spending more time with family.
Subscribe to The Record for the full story and more