The Côte Saint-Luc  Local Commerce Committee is pleased to recognize Coop Sportive Santé gym.

As the Spotlight on Local Merchants recipient for March 2022, Coop Sportive Santé gym, located at the corner of Côte Saint-Luc and Westminster Avenues, has been providing to hundreds of members, of all ages and fitness levels, a place to exercise, partake in various physical activities and feel part of the community.

From left to right: Nelson (boxing coach), Patrick Pierre, Ngala Tanyu Johnson, Haleh Hashemzadeh, Nandini Dendukuri, Steven Erdelyi.

De gauche à droite : Nelson (entraîneur de boxe), Patrick Pierre, Ngala Tanyu Johnson, Haleh Hashemzadeh, Nandini Dendukuri, Steven Erdelyi.

Originally started in 2016 as Power Gym, before switching to a Cooperative in 2018, the facility offers a wide selection of cardio machines, power lifting machines, punching bags and a matted area for martial arts training and group lessons in a clean open-concept space.

Côte Saint-Luc District 4 Councillor Steven Erdelyi believes that Coop Sportive Santé is an excellent example for all merchants. “The Board of the Coop headed by the President Nandini Dendukuri has been striving to create a space where residents can come to become physically and mentally fit and offer courses and programs to share with their fellow members,”  he said.

“The goal of the Coop Sportive Santé is to be a gym where the members share ownership and we can inculcate a sense of community,” said Ms. Dendukuri, on behalf of board members Ngala Tanyu Johnson, Haleh Hashemzadeh, Neil Bernstein and Patrick Pierre.  

There are a variety of group fitness activities going on at the Coop Sportive Santé including boxing, self-defense, Qigong and soccer. Space may be reserved for community events or fitness activities. Gym clients can access qualified personal trainers, physio and massage therapists or a nutritionist.

There are different membership options for those looking to join and a growing number of classes, including activities for seniors and women. Discounts are available for students, seniors, families and fitness professionals. As the pandemic slowly comes to an end, the Coop is happy to welcome returning and new members alike.

Info: https://cotesaintluc.org/services/businesses/spotlight-on-local-merchants.

Marchands locaux en vedette pour le mois de mars : Coop Sportive Santé

Le Comité de commerce local de Côte Saint-Luc est heureux de reconnaître le gymnase Coop Sportive Santé.
 
En tant que récipiendaire du prix Marchand local pour le mois de mars 2022, le gymnase Coop Sportive Santé, situé à l’angle des avenues Côte Saint-Luc et Westminster, offre à des centaines de membres, de tous âges et de tous niveaux de forme physique, un endroit pour faire de l’exercice, participer à diverses activités physiques, créant ainsi un sens d’appartenance à la communauté.
 
Initialement lancé en 2016 sous le nom de Power Gym, avant de passer à une coopérative en 2018, l’établissement offre une large sélection d’appareils cardio, d’appareils de musculation, de sacs de frappe et une zone matelassée pour les entraînements d’arts martiaux et les cours de groupe dans un espace ouvert et propre.
 
Le conseiller du district 4 de Côte Saint-Luc, Steven Erdelyi, estime que la Coop Sportive Santé est un excellent exemple pour tous les commerçants. “Le conseil d’administration de la Coop dirigé par la présidente Nandini Dendukuri s’est efforcé de créer un espace où les résidents peuvent venir pour se mettre en forme physiquement et mentalement et offre des cours et des programmes de groupe pour les membres”, a-t-il déclaré.
 
“L’objectif de la Coop Sportive Santé est d’être un gymnase où les membres sont tous propriétaires et où nous pouvons instaurer un sens de la communauté”, a déclaré Mme Dendukuri, au nom des membres du conseil d’administration Ngala Tanyu Johnson, Haleh Hashemzadeh, Neil Bernstein et Patrick Pierre.  
 
La Coop Sportive Santé propose une variété de cours en groupe de conditionnement physique, dont la boxe, la défense personnelle, le Qigong et le football. Des espaces peuvent être réservés pour des événements communautaires ou des activités de conditionnement physique. Les clients du gymnase peuvent avoir accès à des entraîneurs privés qualifiés, à des physiothérapeutes et des massothérapeutes et/ou à un.e nutritionniste.
 
Il existe différentes options d’adhésion pour ceux qui souhaitent s’inscrire et un nombre sans cesse croissant de cours, notamment des activités pour les aînés et les femmes. Des réductions sont proposées aux étudiants, aux aînés, aux familles et aux professionnels du sport. Alors que la pandémie touche lentement à sa fin, la Coop est heureuse d’accueillir les anciens et les nouveaux membres.

Info: https://cotesaintluc.org/fr/services/entreprises/marchands-locaux-en-vedette/

The City of Côte Saint-Luc, via our newly established Local Commerce Committee, is pleased to announce the first Spotlight on Local Merchants selection,  Pharmacy D.Banon and S.R. Ettedgui affiliated with Pharmaprix, owned by pharmacists David Banon and Sarah Ettedgui. I am proud to gave been asked to chair this new initiative.

 From the time David and Sarah purchased the pharmacy at Cavendish in 2010, and at the time the one at the Caldwell Shopping Centre, they have been model owners and implicated in our community. They have stepped forward to sponsor many of our programs and always make themselves available to counsel clients when needed.

I was pleased to present Sarah and David with their certificate this week.

“David and Sarah are model business owners in our city and very worthy of this recognition” added Mayor Mitchell Brownstein.

David and Sarah are partners in life and business. They met at pharmacy school and have been married for 13 years. The couple have three young children.

 “Being implicated in the community has always been important for both of us, even before becoming pharmacists, be it at our synagogue or volunteering with various local organizations,” said David.  “Of course, becoming owners of such a community-based pharmacy has certainly allowed us to further help out and create bonds with other members in the community who run amazing initiatives.”

Sarah notes how proud they are to be part of  initiatives related to the likes of  the Nellie Philanthropy Foundation, the Mada Community Centre, Canada Day, the CSL Men's Club and the CSL Public Library, just to name a few. “Community for us also means that our clients know our names and feel comfortable reaching out with questions or concerns and vice versa that we really know them and their needs as well,” she said.

David and Sarah are particularly proud of the work their dedicated staff of 80 people do every day. notably throughout the pandemic.  “This has been challenging for I’d say every profession,” says David. “As pharmacists during the pandemic we became the ‘go to’ for a lot of people. We were given more responsibilities by our order in terms of extending prescriptions, prescribing in certain circumstances medications and modifying doses along with vaccinating for flu and eventually against COVID-19 - all of this on top of our regular day to day job of verifying regular prescriptions and answering patient questions. “

Sarah and David unmasked.

Added Sarah: “It is nice to have our capabilities as a health professional recognized. This came   at a very busy time trying to offer everything demanded of us while also having to, in the flip of a switch, learn and implement safety protocols at work, learn to work with masks and sometimes double masks, communicate through plexiglass and balance work home life. However, we did it and continue to do so daily thanks to an incredible pharmacy team and front store staff and I think any pharmacy owner can truly say that we are surviving this pandemic thanks to our teams that work tirelessly behind us.” 

 Sarah grew up in Côte-Saint-Luc and attended Hebrew Academy for elementary and high school. She went into health sciences at Dawson College, completed a Bachelor in Microbiology and Immunology from McGill University prior to entering Pharmacy School at Université de Montreal.  As a pharmacy student she worked at the Lackman and Masella pharmacy on Westminster Avenue. 

David   grew up  Saint-Laurent, went  to École Maimonide for elementary and high school.  He enrolled into Health Sciences at College Bois-de-Boulogne and also attended pharmacy school at Université de Montreal. At that time, he worked as a student at the Pharmaprix Cavendish, then owned by Valerie Rouimi.  He also completed a Masters in Hospital Pharmacy and worked for three years as a hospital pharmacist at the Jewish General Hospital from 2006 to 2009. 

How did David and Sarah decide to become pharmacists?

“A chemistry teacher in CEGEP approached me and suggested I should visit a pharmacy,” David recalls. “At that time, I had no clue what a pharmacist was really doing. After a short visit at a local pharmacy, I took the decision to apply into pharmacy school.”

Sarah started working at the pharmacy at Mount Sinai Hospital during her undergrad at McGill. “I learned a lot about the profession from the pharmacists, “she said. “It was working alongside   the stagiaire students I met who inspired me to pursue a career in pharmacy.”

About the Local Commerce Committee

The Local Commerce Committee will advise or make recommendations, where necessary, to the Council on all aspects related to Local Commerce and economic development, and will fulfill the following mandates:

• Develop relationships with local merchants to understand their needs.
• Create up-to-date database of local business operators, kept current by operating licenses.
• Promote local merchants and local shopping activity.
• Help connect local merchants to resources, funding, tools and training.
• Create internal policies that encourage ordering from local businesses.
• Plan for mixed use developments where people can live, work, and shop.
• Zone strategically for certain uses.
• Encourage businesses to set up shop on our territory.
• Help create an environment where businesses can flourish.
• Help establish a Merchants’ Association.
• Provide incentives, breaks and/or grants

We will certainly be looking for public input on this committee. Our Associate City Manager Tanya Abramovitch, Treasurer Angelo Marino,  Deputy Mayor Dida Berku, General Counsel  and Director of Purchasing Andrea Charon, Director of Public Affairs and Communications Darryl Levine and  Executive Assistant to the Mayor and City Manager Tammy McEwen are on the committee.