Auberge du Marchand building was erected during the construction of L’Hôtel Le Retour by Maurille Guité in 1952. Several citizens of Maria and the surrounding area still tell fond memories of his legendary bar, “La cave chez Maurille”.

In 1979, Claude Loubert acquires the business and renames it L’Hôtel La Baie. He transforms it into a seniors residence before returning its original vocation in the 2000s.

Taken into new ownership by Jérôme Pichette, Christian Bernard and Patrick Guité in 2010, the hotel went under major renovations and was renamed Auberge du Marchand. The exterior was completely revamped, giving a glorious boost in the heart of Maria. Keeping the majority of the rooms, the owners set up a gourmet grocery store with lunch counter. The restoration aspect was a great success. In 2012, Patrick Guité left the company, then major work was undertaken in the spring: a 49 seat restaurant was created and the terrace was considerably enlarged. Mathieu Kelly became chef of the restaurant that year, and then Kathleen St-Onge as director of the hotel in 2013.

In 2016, seven rooms are completely renovated and two apartments 4 ½ are built, while the other seven rooms and two studios are redecorated. These improvements result in a significant increase in traffic. A charging station for electric vehicles is also installed.

The company has four shareholders, Jérôme Pichette and Christian Bernard (since the beginning), Kathleen St-Onge since 2014 as well as Mathieu Kelly since 2015.