The Canadiens’ playoff run saved my store, co-owner says

Tony Araujo says he owes his business to the Habs.

The co-owner of Logo Sports, an independent vendor of personalized jerseys on St-Laurent Blvd., was stuck with a store full of inventory and no customers when the Canadiens embarked on a deep playoff run.

“That saved our business,” he said. “We were ready to close our doors like everyone else.”

Now, things have turned around, and Araujo is having problems meeting demand of Habs fans who want to dress up in their team colours. Araujo said demand for personal jerseys are at a record high, and anyone wishing to have a player’s name sewn on the back of their shirt must wait more than two weeks.

“Sales have been going absolutely crazy: everything red,” Araujo said. “It’s been a bit of everything: caps, T-shirts, some hoodies because it’s been cool. It’s been great. It really, really helped us.”

Araujo said demand for personal jerseys are at a record high, and anyone wishing to have a player’s name sewn on the back of their shirt must wait more than two weeks.

“After Lane Hutson scored that goal, the next day it was all (Lane Hutson). We must have sold a dozen Hutson jerseys right away,” he said. “Of course, the most popular is the captain, Suzuki, and during the year, it was Caufield, when he was on his 50-goal run.”

A lot of people buying jerseys are tourists in town for the weekend, either to catch a game, or just to take in the good vibes of the city’s latest Habs fever.

“A good 50 per cent of people on the weekend are from out of town,” he said. “We have a lot of Habs fans across the country.”

Despite the driveable distance of the opponent, Buffalo Sabres, any fans of that team coming to town for the game should bring their own jerseys.

“We had one Buffalo jersey left, and I sold it today,” he said. “There are people who hate the Canadiens and they want to rub it in to everyone.”

In LaSalle, staff of the local Lids store at Carrefour Angrignon have noted increased sales of anything Habs-related since the team picked up its pace in the middle of the season.

The store sells authentic autographs of players that can be embroidered on any jersey, cap or other merchandise.

“It’s been a big year for Cole Caufield and the Nick Suzuki,” said Joseph Frances Espinosa, the store’s assistant manager. “But one name that may surprise some people is (Arber) Xhekaj.”

Since Espinosa’s store is one of the smaller outlets of Lids, they don’t carry all the names of the most popular players on jerseys, so several people looking for Jakub Dobes jerseys have been disappointed.

Habs fever has also been a boon for local bars, both downtown and in the suburbs. At the Cage Brasserie Sportif in Vaudreuil-Dorion, reservations were sold out for all of the games in the second round since 15 minutes after the Habs won Game 7 on Sunday.

“I’d say the phone rang about 500 times after the game ended,” said Emmanuel Joannette, the restobar’s manager. “All three of the first games sold out at the same time. It went very, very fast.”

Downtown’s McLean’s Pub and Maison Publique McLean’s have had to block reservations on their website and by phone, said co-owner Stuart Ashton.

“It’s overwhelming. It’s first come first served. We encourage people to come early, but there has been a lineup outside for just about every game.

“I’ve been here for more than 30 years and there are some good years and some really bad years,” he said. “This is the craziest it has ever been.”

Montréal Centre-ville, the merchants association representing businesses in the downtown area, has noted an increased volume of foot traffic on game nights, especially when the games are at home.

“The playoffs have been very positive for the vitality of the downtown area,” said Jules Hébert, the association’s director general. “Around the Bell Centre, we’ve seen foot traffic of around 53,000 people on some nights, which is a 380 per cent increase (from a March game night) and translates into full bars and restaurants and stores doing swift business. We hope the run continues and we are inviting the public to take part in the vibes of downtown Montreal.”

Jason Magder

You'll often see Jason Magder donning a hard hat and florescent vest at a local construction site. As The Gazette's transportation reporter for more than a decade, he has seen the new Champlain Bridge built, the old one demolished and followed the ups and downs of the city's transit system. He has been covering news in Montreal for 25 years.

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