The return of a Steinberg grocery store: Peter Lipari to rebrand IGA Côte St. Luc Shopping Centre

As a self-proclaimed man of the people, Peter Lipari is beloved by those who shop at his Côte St. Luc Shopping Centre IGA grocery store.

Last fall I presented Lipari with the Merchant of the Month Award.

On a daily basis Peter literally walks the aisles talking to customers and getting their feedback on a wide variety of topics. If people suggest he purchase a particular product not in stock, he will go the extra mile to find it. But now Peter has told me he intends to play out the ultimate request: bringing some major nostalgia back to the community. IGA Côte St. Luc Shopping Centre will now be renamed Steinberg CSL, which for 75 years was a mainstay on the Quebec grocery store scene.

Lipari met with former Hampstead Mayor William Steinberg. His late parents, Morris and Clara Steinberg, were part of the family-owned grocery store chain. Steinberg very much liked the idea of bringing back the name, which was so synonymous with food. He has consented for the Steinberg name to be used for a nominal fee plus a percentage of sales on all of the merchandise Lipari plans to roll out. William Steinberg’s son Craig, a social media and graphic arts specialist, will play a key role on the marketing side while wife Doris and daughter Tara will also be involved.

A familiar brand is coming back.

“This will be the start of something big,” said Lipari. “I have been working on this for years. While we are starting out at my store, I have communicated with franchise owners from other brands across the island and they are on board.”

At the Côte St. Luc Road location, renovations will be done to build a small deli to be named Ben Ash in the corner end near the frozen foods. Ben Ash was also a mainstay at the centre.

Lipari said he will not mess with Quebec’s language police and try to call the store Steinberg’s. The family removed the apostrophe in 1961. Lipari even has the notable catchphrase which will even go over well with CAQ government. “Je fais mon Steinberg” did indeed become a phrase housewives used to use to signify they were going out to buy food for dinner.

When I was a child, my parents took myself and my two siblings to Steinberg at the CSL Shopping Centre. We shopped together and then had hotdogs at PikNik. The manager’s name was Mr. Caplan. We all got so excited to line up at the car order and have the bags packed in the trunk.

Isn’t this a great idea? Could it come true? Yes, indeed it can. But for now it is just an April Fool’s joke. However, knowing Mr. Lipari and Mr. Steinberg from this little article could become a real thing.