Many Montreal companies faced a simple choice when the pandemic hit: get busy closing or get busy quacking.

Pam Petropoulos chose the latter with her small business, Le Petit Duck Shoppe, a novelty store in Old Montreal that sells rubber ducks and rubber duck accessories.

From Harry Ponder to Ziggy Starduck, Le Petit Duck Shoppe is said to have Canada’s largest collection of rubber ducks, some of whom resemble our favourite celebrities.

After working in the corporate world for over 20 years, Petropoulos hatched the idea for Le Petit Duck Shoppe when she saw a similar store while on vacation in Europe.

"I had such a visceral reaction to the ducks," she told MTL Blog.

"I immediately fell in love with them. It was a rainy afternoon when I stumbled upon the store and that discovery just made my day. I ended up buying a bunch of ducks for friends and family and I thought to myself, I’m going to open a duckie store in Montreal."

After opening in late spring 2020, Petropoulos thought her shop would be mostly popular with tourists, but with limited visitors to the city thanks to the pandemic, local Montrealers have become her best customers.