An All-Day Café Just Opened on St-Denis

Boutique fitness studio Espace Thomas officially has a little sister: Café Péché.

The café, which opened last week on St-Denis Street and Duluth Avenue, is now serving up lattes, pastries, and smoothies from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

Péché was designed to be a “place of gathering,” says owner Jennifer Nguyen, who notes she has no problem with patrons bringing their laptops and staying all day. The underside of its long glass bar is lined with outlets, making this even easier.

“We’re friendly, Nguyen says. “People can come in, have a drink or a coffee and just plug and work and stay there all day.”

Péché was designed to be the indulgent counterpart to Espace Thomas — the idea being that after (or instead of) a workout, patrons can swing by the café for a drink and a snack. The venue’s liquor license is still pending, but once it comes through, Nguyen plans to serve alcohol and run the spot as a café-bar. The fitness centre and the café are located in adjoining buildings connected internally by a door — so patrons can easily move between the two. Nyugen even plans to offer coffeeshop discounts to gym members, to encourage patronage at both spots.

It’s hard to miss Péché when walking along the retail-heavy St-Denis; the building’s exterior is painted bright red, a stark contrast to the converted church building next door in which Espace Thomas is housed. The dichotomy between the two spaces was an intentionally playful move on Nguyen’s part.

“It’s just an irony, where we’re having a coffeeshop — and hopefully soon a bar — where it used to be the reverend’s garage, right next to the church,” she says.

“Think of it as a church basement 2.0, where you hang out, have a drink later on or right now have a coffee, do all the sins that you want.”

The coffeeshop is the second of three boutique projects from Nguyen and company. She’s also opening a luxury hotel on the same stretch of St-Denis Street around Duluth Avenue in a few weeks’ time.

STATUS: Péché is currently open as a café from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 3998 Saint-Denis Street. Pending liquor license approval, these hours will expand when the spot adds alcohol service.

• Péché [Facebook]