Ryan Reisert / McGill Tribune

This week I got a chance to sit behind the counter at a depanneur famous for its exceptionally friendly owner, Hanna Lee. As many McGill students know, Super Depanneur—or as it is more commonly known, “Super Dep”—is one of the best places to pick up the student life essentials: a six pack of PBR, a bag of all-dressed potato chips, and a can or two of Red Bull. But what many people don’t know about this depanneur is just how personable the owner is, and how hard it is to run.

When asked how she got into the depanneur business, Lee said, “when you come to Canada as an immigrant, you don’t have a lot of choices.”  She explained that  “you just need to be nice and smiling and know how to say how much the bill is.”

After moving from South Korea to Canada in 1994, Lee and her family arrived without any knowledge of English or French. Her uncle, who previously owned the depanneur, showed her the ropes. She says that she learned most of her language skills in the store, talking with customers. Today, Lee runs the store with help from her mother. 

Throughout the years, Lee has experienced her fair share of problems. She explained that one of the most difficult things about working in a depanneur is the occasional trouble maker who tries to steal something, or causes a ruckus. Lee told a story of how “two years ago around Halloween some student came in and started spraying whipped cream around the store. While it may have been fun for them, it was certainly not enjoyable for me to clean up.”

Yet she doesn’t let these problems affect her. Lee explained that her favorite part of working at Super Dep are the customers, and that she really cherishes the relationships she builds with them over the years. She knows one student who comes back every year for the Formula 1 races and always makes sure to come by and say hello. She also described a family whose children, all regular customers, went to McGill. Over the course of six or seven years, she has come to know their parents as well. Occasionally the whole family comes in and she sees them all together.

As for the future of Super Dep, it doesn’t look like much is going to change. “I have looked into opening another location in the ghetto but it is a lot of work,” Lee said. “With a larger depanneur you don’t get to have a personal relationship with your customers like you do with a smaller depanneur, like I have here.”