In 2001, the final year that awards were given through a program launched by the Vanier Heritage Committee, the City recognized Pierre Sfeir, owner of the Vanier Grill, with the Award of Excellence for Building Conservation. Several years earlier, Sfeir had consulted City of Vanier heritage staff as part of his restoration of the property at 159 Montreal Road. Over 100 years earlier, during the 1880s, the building had opened as only the second general store in Janeville, known as the Durocher Grocery Store (Épicerie Durocher). The first store, opened by Charles Cummings, was established on Cummings Island, the small island located between Sandy Hill and Vanier. The Durocher store flourished, remembered by Raymond Cyr in his memories of growing up in the 1920s and 1930s, as one of the buildings that contributed to everyday social life on and around Montreal Road (Janeville Heritage Study). Today, the building hosts the Vanier Grill, open since 1994.
The main image (see above) is composed of the following two photographs. Left: Durocher General Store, City of Ottawa (1918?); Right: Vanier Grill, Vanier Now (March 2013). Click to enlarge.
![]()
Sources:
Grudniewicz, Dorota; Hossack, Andrea; Sloan, Trina; and Taillon, Jacques (1996). Janeville Heritage Study, Canadian Studies Program, Carleton University, Ottawa.
“Pierre Sfeir” Ottawa Citizen, Wednesday, February 21, 2001, pF4 (IMG 1558)
Sources:
Grudniewicz, Dorota; Hossack, Andrea; Sloan, Trina; and Taillon, Jacques (1996). Janeville Heritage Study, Canadian Studies Program, Carleton University, Ottawa.
“Pierre Sfeir” Ottawa Citizen, Wednesday, February 21, 2001, pF4 (IMG 1558)