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A decade ago the city attempted to murder The Main, in a three-year-long Festival of Construction that left the street on life support.

For years after, the most popular chain on St-Laurent Blvd. was named “A Louer.”

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But this spring, at last, the Main has finally recovered and embraced a new life – like many times in its long, ever-changing history.

Welcome to The Main 2.0.

Two years ago I counted 30 “For Rent” signs on the street between Prince-Arthur and Duluth Sts. alone. But on a walk last week I saw only four — a trend that’s sweeping the Main right up to Mont-Royal Ave.

Everywhere you turn there are new cafés, galleries, clothing shops, yoga studios and skateboard fashion boutiques — sometimes splitting the same shop.

You’ve heard of ride-sharing, house-sharing and job-sharing. Well, now there’s a shop-sharing economy.

Take Art Gang, a designer clothing boutique that just opened on the Main, sharing its large bright room with Caffelini, a terrific espresso café that’s plunked amidst the fashionable clothing racks — and owned by a different person.