Aux Quatre Jeudis Café
42-44 Laval Street

The history of this site begins with Isaïe Laflèche, born on May 25, 1846 in Saint-Martin-de-l'île-Jésus, Laval. He moved to Hull in 1872, and that same year, he married Olive Cadieux, daughter of Pierre Cadieux and Josette Rodier. Four of their 11 children died in infancy. Their daughter Dona married Wilfrid Sanche; two sons entered the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and three others, Zéphir, Oscar and Albert, became shopkeepers in their hometown. The youngest child, Eugène, would become the inventor of a new recipe for spruce beer. In 1877, Isaïe Laflèche, a labourer, owned a house, part of which was occupied by the grocer Anthyme Carrière. After the fire of 1880, which razed 486 houses in Hull, Isaïe built a new house and became a grocer himself. In 1886, another fire ravaged part of the district and its buildings. Another larger, wooden house was burned down in turn during the Great Fire of April 26, 1900.

Undaunted, Laflèche built a fourth building in the same location, a three-storey brick structure in the Italian style. It housed a grocery store, a residential apartment and a public hall. Three of his sons, Zéphir, Oscar and Albert, also became grocers. Albert carried on the family business, taking over in April 1912, when his father retired. The butcher counter supplied fresh meat from Canada Packers. Besides the employees and hired carters, Albert's children, Georges-André, Rolland and Marie-Jeanne, worked in the family business. It was a special place where people would tell hunting and fishing stories, as Albert was a member of five sporting clubs.

Albert Laflèche (1880-1955) married Mézilia Tremblay (d. 1952) on June 20, 1904. They had 11 children, seven of whom reached adulthood: Jean-Louis, Georges-André, Marie-Jeanne, Gertrude, Rolland, Bernard and Gérard. The couple were loving parents, providing their children with a good education and a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Georges-André became concertmaster of the Ottawa Symphony at the age of 16. All the children were excellent tennis players. Marie-Jeanne was a painter. Gertrude studied at the University of Ottawa and in Paris, and had a research career in the federal public service. In 1978 and in 1979, she was involved in the conservation of the Wright-Scott House and the Musée de l'Outaouais (Outaouais Museum) project.

The large hall above the residential flat was used for public meetings. Between 1912 and 1920, the Laflèche Hall was the meeting place of the first Catholic union, the Association ouvrière de Hull (Hull Workers' Association) ? forerunner of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (Confederation of National Trade Unions) - led by the ardent union activist Achille Morin, a former member of the Knights of Labour and a Hull alderman from 1930 to 1957. At the time, the Outaouais was a crucible of Catholic unionism in Quebec. Founded in 1912, the Association wanted to break away from the international unions that had taken hold in the region several decades earlier, and that were organized by trade. The Association supported, instead, collaboration between social classes and the protection of the workers' French language and culture in the face of English and American influences. The first strikes of Hull employees must have stimulated heated discussions in the Laflèche Hall. This space was also used for dances, where Albert Laflèche displayed his talent as a caller.

In September 1957, Georges-André Laflèche rented the grocery to René Belisle and Gabriel Larivière, of Saint-André-Avellin, who lived there for several years. In January 1976, Laflèche sold the property to the notary Pierre Desrosiers of Phides Management. In February 1977, a local enterprise, the Laflèche Gallery, replaced the grocery store.

January 4, 1978 marked the start of a new era. Louis Gilles Rocheleau, François Fortier and Carole Morin opened the Aux Quatre Jeudis Café on the premises. The name of the café is equivalent to the English expression "in a month of Sundays". It was chosen after a long discussion ending with, "If we keep talking, we'll find a name in a month of Sundays." The name is appropriate, given that some of the plans cooked up at the café's tables are likely to be realized... in a month of Sundays. But that is not always the case. With the various artistic and cultural activities organized by François Fortier, the café has become an institution. Its many exhibitions promote artists from the region and its launches attract book lovers. Since 1989, films have been shown on a large outdoor screen. Even the back wall reflects the cultural commitment of the café with its fish mural, executed in 1988 by Turquoise Design Inc., one of the young firms that got its start in premises on the ground floor. The seasons and popular holidays, including Halloween, are celebrated with special dinners and memorable evenings. There is a lot more than coffee brewing at the Aux Quatre Jeudis Café!