Brasseurs RJ to Open Sprawling Beer Garden Next to Laurier Park | Eater Montreal

"I'm seeing plans from Brasseurs RJ to turn its St-Grégoire Street brewery at the very northern end of the Plateau, next to Laurier Park and bordering the Canadian Pacific rail tracks, into a lively beer garden and community hub. Documents submitted to a borough planning committee describe a tasting room and terrasse — even a “biergarten” — and RJ has also raised the possibility of food service and a performance space; the company appears interested in transforming the neighbouring stretch of de la Roche Street into a “town square” (though it’s unclear if that would require closing the street, which is mostly used for brewery parking at present). The site is currently zoned solely for industrial use, and RJ is seeking a zoning change that the Plateau’s Planning Advisory Committee has approved but which still needs borough council approval. RJ is the company behind local brands like Cheval Blanc, Belle Gueule and Tremblay and brews for other companies such as d’Achouffe and Bitburger; the RJ name comes from a merger of Le Cheval Blanc, GMT (Belle Gueule) and Brasseurs de l’Anse. Given the pending approvals and winter, this new watering hole probably won’t appear before next summer at the earliest." - Tim Forster