Tucked into 10 rue Notre-Dame, local 104, in Repentigny, Placard et Cie is not a typical friperie-cafe pairing but a school enterprise, meaning every transaction at the register is also a training exercise for a young person building real work experience. The business was created by Carrefour jeunesse-emploi L’Assomption, a youth employment support organization, specifically to give participants a live, low pressure environment to practice customer service, teamwork, and workplace habits while still being coached and supported along the way. One participant summed up that environment plainly, saying the space feels genuinely welcoming, that they feel comfortable there, and that they receive good guidance while still being given plenty of autonomy, a description that captures the balance the program is designed to strike between real responsibility and real support.
The shop itself is split into two connected spaces, described on its own site simply as the friperie side and the cafe side, letting visitors browse secondhand clothing and then settle in for a coffee without leaving the building. That combination turns a errand into something closer to a neighborhood hangout, which matters for a training enterprise that depends on repeat foot traffic to keep giving its young staff consistent hands on experience. On the fashion side, the business leans into an eco responsible approach to secondhand retail, framing every purchase as a small act of textile revalorization that keeps clothing circulating locally rather than heading to a landfill, and the organization also highlights its use of recyclable and biodegradable materials wherever possible in how it operates day to day.
Beyond the retail floor, Placard et Cie has built out a promotional products and printing arm for businesses and event organizers, offering personalized branded merchandise and inviting prospective clients to simply request a quote. That side of the operation gives program participants exposure to a different kind of client facing work entirely, quoting jobs and managing custom orders rather than just running a cash register, which broadens the range of transferable skills they walk away with. Between the clothing racks, the cafe counter, and the promotional printing service, the enterprise manages to fold several distinct business functions under one roof, all in service of the same underlying goal of workforce development for young people in the L’Assomption region.
Community members can follow along and stay current on new arrivals, events, and promotions through the shop’s Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok accounts, along with a newsletter signup that welcomes new subscribers into what the business calls its own extended family. For shoppers, that means a steady stream of secondhand fashion finds and a coffee to go with it; for the young people staffing the till, it means a genuine training ground inside a real, functioning small business rather than a classroom simulation. In short, Placard et Cie is a Repentigny friperie and cafe built as a hands on training enterprise for local youth, combining secondhand fashion, coffee, and custom promotional printing under one community minded roof.
