Welcomed With Open Arms

A Swiss chalet-style home, at the foot of high mountains, a big-hearted family, welcoming, always ready to burst into song together… No, we’re not talking about The Sound of Music; rather, this is an invitation to feel at home, at Chez les Bergeron!

Chez Les Bergeron

No need to fly to the Old World to sing a tune steeped in sound family values that echoes through the mountains! Have you heard about the Charlevoix backcountry? Land of legends and stories, Menaud Maitre-draveur [master of the river] and the montagnes de la noyée [mountains whose silhouettes look like a drowned woman]; the territory is hilly and green. Here, on the road that leads to the Parc National des Hautes-Gorges de la rivière Malbaie, sits the village of Saint-Aimé-des-Lacs, where Marcel and Guylaine raised their four children: Jean-Philippe, Alexandre, Kamille and Léandre. A family that welcomes you like no other, warmly, and with a song. Yes, with a song! Here, on the shores of lac Sainte-Marie which, in these parts, is simply called le petit lac [the little lake], they recently founded a unique business based on the thing that unites all of them, on their talent: coffee, comfort, and choruses, Chez Les Bergeron!

Coffee and ice cream

You’ll find parents, children, and even grandchildren behind the counter in this family business, the Bergeron smile on their faces, ready to serve you whatever you like from the coffee and ice cream shop’s menu. Iced coffee, lattes, or ask for a cup just the way you like it! Pastries, cookies, and more… Whether soft ice cream, vanilla, or ripple, more importantly, it’s dipped in chocolate from the Chocolaterie du village, in Les Éboulements, well known in these parts! Just as it is inside, the atmosphere outside is friendly and comfortable, and comes with a view of the lush outdoors surrounding this small, well-appointed property, and the lake below.

Comfortably snug

When there’s only one suite (2 rooms + sofa bed) available for tourists who will find themselves pampered and spoiled, that’s “the royal treatment”: cozy surroundings, a beautiful space, lovely breakfast, hot tub, and campfire on property overlooking the lake.

A lyrical lodge

Mother Guylaine always loved singing and taking the mic; a love she’s shared with her three sons!

Jean-Philippe has made singing his great passion, singing the great French songs, and the work of local author, composer, and performer Jean-Yves Belley with feeling you can see in his eyes and hear in his voice. Honed by a love for language, lesser-known writings by this now-octogenarian teacher and poet are finding new audiences thanks to Jean-Philippe’s performances (July 28, 2023, at La Malbaie’s Parc du Havre) and the « De Charlevoix à Paris » [From Charlevoix to Paris] show performed in the intimate Chez les Bergeron venue, every Thursday evening in July and August, at 8 p.m. There’s room for 30 spectators, no reservation needed, who will experience the emotion and love conveyed in the songs of Dalida, Bachelet… and, of course, Jean-Yves Belley!

Besides making appearances at Chez Les Bergeron, Alexandre both hosts corporate events and provides them with tuneful atmosphere. In the latter he is accompanied, more often than not, by youngest brother Léandre, who works in recreation and music programming for the city of La Malbaie, on guitar and vocals. Besides hoping for their musical and friendly presence around the night-time campfire at Chez Les Bergeron, they can also be found entertaining guests in the lobby and bar or on the terraces at the Fairmont le Manoir Richelieu on a number of dates throughout the year (July 15 and 16, 2023, and August 26 and 27, 2023).

Hearts in the right place

The Bergeron family is proof of the saying that being a good person attracts good people to you, with the success of their intergenerational business supported, not only by the larger community, but also by the generous assistance provided by the Charlevoix-Est RCM’s Mission développement Charlevoix team. Below, you can see the love that brings this venture to life, and the deep gratitude expressed by father and head of the Bergeron clan, Marcel: