Le Faubourg Ste-Catherine has been a fixture in the Shaughnessy Village district of downtown Montreal since 1986. Prior to that, it contained one of the larger car dealerships in the Atwater/Guy street corridor as well as the legendary Toe Blake Tavern. As a contemporary urban market, le Faubourg is similar in concept and design to the successful, cosmopolitan Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall in Boston.
I recall visiting le Faubourg when it first opened and being extremely impressed with the selection of small, speciality businesses and international restaurants. There were many tourists, shoppers and diners; and there was an international, multi-cultural, urban flair to the market. More importantly, the food court on the top level was the talk of the town and was considered a place to be seen in downtown Montreal.
Recently I paid a visit to le Faubourg and was saddened to find it has fallen on hard times. Frankly, it is filthy and contains only a handful of businesses that are open for business. There were homeless people loitering, security personnel galore and more cockroaches and pigeons than customers in the food court. It would appear that the anchor tenant is now a Dollarama. This alone speaks volumes. While there were a few stores with street access including an SAQ there is a vital lack of anything going on here. I would avoid this place like the plague. Le Faubourg's glory days have long since passed.