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The Main Media Inc. 2026

✦ Built By Field Office
    The Main

    Montreal's Cultural Directory

    Help us improve! Share your thoughts on how we can make your experience better.

    Leave feedback

    For partnerships and collaborations:

    partnerships@themain.com

    Content

    • Articles
    • Food & Drink
    • Arts & Culture
    • History Lesson
    • Bulletin
    • Events

    Guides

    • All Guides
    • Best Restaurants
    • Best Cafés
    • Best Bars
    • Best Brunch
    • Best Bakeries

    Explore Montreal

    • Browse Directory
    • Restaurants
    • Bars
    • Cafés
    • Bookstores
    • Leaderboard
    • Editor's Picks
    • New Places

    About

    • About us
    • Subscribe
    • Shop
    • Advertise
    • Pitch us
    • RSS Feed

    Legal

    • Terms of service
    • Membership Terms
    • Privacy Policy
    Follow us
    InstagramTwitterTiktokLinkedin

    The Main Media Inc. 2026

    ✦ Built By Field Office
      --°C|Monday, May 4, 2026|
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      --°C|Monday, May 4, 2026|
      Subscribe today to get 3 free articles per month.Get 50% off your first 5 rides with Lyft
      InstagramTwitterTiktokLinkedin
      |
      Advertise
      The Main Logo
      Magazine
      Sections
      • Arts & Culture
      • Beyond Montreal
      • Design
      • Food & Drink
      • History Lessons
      • The Bulletin
      Explore
      Popular Guides
      • The Best Restaurants in Montreal
      • Best new Restaurants
      • Best Cafés
      • Unique Boutiques
      • Romantic Restaurants
      • Best Bookstores
      • See all Guides
      Neighbourhood
      • Downtown
      • Le Plateau-Mont-Royal
      • Mile End
      • Mile-Ex
      • Saint-Henri
      • See All
      Business Type
      • Restaurant
      • Café
      • Boutique / Store
      • Bar
      • Bakery
      • See All
      Near the Metro
      • Peel
      • Mont-Royal
      • Place-Saint-Henri
      • Place-d'Armes
      • Jarry
      • View all
      ShopWeather
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      Subscribe
      Windsor Station's New Owners Are Determined to Make It More Than a Landmark
      Montreal, Inc.
      The Main

      Windsor Station's New Owners Are Determined to Make It More Than a Landmark

      Group Society and Laurier Capital just acquired the 137-year-old heritage building from Cadillac Fairview for $62 million.

      Welcome Back From the Dead, Frank And Oak
      Montreal, Inc.
      The Main

      Welcome Back From the Dead, Frank And Oak

      The Montreal brand was insolvent a year ago. New owners have acquired the name, ditched the stores, and are betting the audience never left.

      How Ciele Proves It's About More Than Just Running
      Montreal, Inc.
      J.P. Karwacki

      How Ciele Proves It's About More Than Just Running

      Twelve years and a million hats later, Ciele co-founder Jeremy Bresnen is still more interested in why people quit than why they keep going.

      La Ronde Has a New Owner. Whether It Gets New Investment Is Another Question.
      Montreal, Inc.
      The Main

      La Ronde Has a New Owner. Whether It Gets New Investment Is Another Question.

      EPR Properties and former Six Flags CEO Kieran Burke are taking over the park, but Montrealers have heard promising ownership talk before.

      Maguire is what happens when you combine city-based design with accessible luxury
      Montreal, Inc.
      J.P. Karwacki

      Maguire is What Happens When You Combine City-based Design with Accessible Luxury

      It's a Canadian approach of place-based design that's made this purposeful brand grow (and not have to rely on going viral).

      How the Montreal-founded billion-dollar Sonder collapsed so suddenly
      Montreal, Inc.
      The Main

      How the Montreal-founded Billion-dollar Sonder Collapsed so Suddenly

      The short-term rental company went from student side-project to unicorn status before imploding.

      Windsor Station's New Owners Are Determined to Make It More Than a Landmark
      Montreal, Inc.
      The Main

      Windsor Station's New Owners Are Determined to Make It More Than a Landmark

      Group Society and Laurier Capital just acquired the 137-year-old heritage building from Cadillac Fairview for $62 million.

      Welcome Back From the Dead, Frank And Oak
      Montreal, Inc.
      The Main

      Welcome Back From the Dead, Frank And Oak

      The Montreal brand was insolvent a year ago. New owners have acquired the name, ditched the stores, and are betting the audience never left.

      How Ciele Proves It's About More Than Just Running
      Montreal, Inc.
      J.P. Karwacki

      How Ciele Proves It's About More Than Just Running

      Twelve years and a million hats later, Ciele co-founder Jeremy Bresnen is still more interested in why people quit than why they keep going.

      La Ronde Has a New Owner. Whether It Gets New Investment Is Another Question.
      Montreal, Inc.
      The Main

      La Ronde Has a New Owner. Whether It Gets New Investment Is Another Question.

      EPR Properties and former Six Flags CEO Kieran Burke are taking over the park, but Montrealers have heard promising ownership talk before.

      Maguire is what happens when you combine city-based design with accessible luxury
      Montreal, Inc.
      J.P. Karwacki

      Maguire is What Happens When You Combine City-based Design with Accessible Luxury

      It's a Canadian approach of place-based design that's made this purposeful brand grow (and not have to rely on going viral).

      How the Montreal-founded billion-dollar Sonder collapsed so suddenly
      Montreal, Inc.
      The Main

      How the Montreal-founded Billion-dollar Sonder Collapsed so Suddenly

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      Montreal, Inc.

      Why Empire Thinks it Will Thrive in a Struggling Downtown Core

      Phil Grisé is opening a 26,000-square-foot skate shop in a building Archambault couldn't hold on to —because to him, physical retail isn't dead, it just needs to be worth the trip.

      ByJ.P. Karwacki

      November 4, 2025 · 8 min read

      Why Empire thinks it will thrive in a struggling  downtown core
      Photography: Supplied

      Discover the places mentioned in this story

      EmpireMaison BaultBerriPlace Émilie-GamelinUniversity of Quebec in Montreal

      In the final days before Empire's downtown opening in late October, Phil Grisé takes the call from the construction site. In the background: power tools, counters being installed, his team merchandising three floors of retail space. The highly anticipated in-house café project with Laurent Dagenais, Maison BaultBerri, is running a bit behind—wood milling complications, the usual delays—but Phil's calm about it. He's been planning this for a year and a half.

      What Grisé is pulling off is either brilliant or reckless, depending on who you ask: opening what's likely the biggest skate and snowboard shop in the world in a building where Archambault, a 127-year-old Quebec cultural institution, cited "evolution of consumer habits" and a deteriorating neighbourhood as reasons they had to leave.

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      The Main

      Comments

      Welcome to The Main's comments section!

      Share your thoughts and join the conversation. Please be respectful and constructive.

      No comments yet. Be the first!

      Follow on Google
      Montreal, Inc.

      Why Empire Thinks it Will Thrive in a Struggling Downtown Core

      Phil Grisé is opening a 26,000-square-foot skate shop in a building Archambault couldn't hold on to —because to him, physical retail isn't dead, it just needs to be worth the trip.

      ByJ.P. Karwacki

      November 4, 2025 · 8 min read

      Why Empire thinks it will thrive in a struggling  downtown core
      Photography: Supplied

      Discover the places mentioned in this story

      EmpireMaison BaultBerriPlace Émilie-GamelinUniversity of Quebec in Montreal

      In the final days before Empire's downtown opening in late October, Phil Grisé takes the call from the construction site. In the background: power tools, counters being installed, his team merchandising three floors of retail space. The highly anticipated in-house café project with Laurent Dagenais, Maison BaultBerri, is running a bit behind—wood milling complications, the usual delays—but Phil's calm about it. He's been planning this for a year and a half.

      What Grisé is pulling off is either brilliant or reckless, depending on who you ask: opening what's likely the biggest skate and snowboard shop in the world in a building where Archambault, a 127-year-old Quebec cultural institution, cited "evolution of consumer habits" and a deteriorating neighbourhood as reasons they had to leave.

      Free account required

      For readers who care about Montreal

      Create a free account to read this story and access 3 articles per month, plus our weekly Bulletin.

      Independent. Local. Reader-supported.

      or

      Already a member? Sign in

      The Main

      Comments

      Welcome to The Main's comments section!

      Share your thoughts and join the conversation. Please be respectful and constructive.

      No comments yet. Be the first!

      Follow on Google

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