Plateau Brewery Wants to Open Sprawling Beer Garden Next to Laurier Park

A major Plateau brewery wants to open a beer garden and create a lively community hub out of a quiet industrial zone next to Laurier Park.

According to Métro’s Plateau community news, Brasseurs RJ (known for Cheval Blanc and Belle Gueule beers, among others) is planning a tasting room and terrasse for the premises of its St-Grégoire Street brewery at the very northern end of the Plateau; a“biergarten”, in the words of documents submitted to a borough planning committee.

The area, which borders the Canadian Pacific rail tracks, is presently zoned solely for industrial use, but Métro reports that RJ have set about getting the zoning changed, and that the Plateau’s Planning Advisory Committee have already approved it (it still needs to be approved by the borough council).

Other potential uses for the space that RJ have raised included food service, and a performance space. It seems that RJ is interested in transforming its neighbouring stretch of de la Roche Street into a “town square” type space, although it’s not clear if there is interest in closing that street off — Métro notes that it’s apparently used mostly for the brewery’s parking at present.

While RJ might not be a commonly-known name to some beer drinkers, it’s actually the company behind a number of local brands like Tremblay, and brews some beers for other companies, such as d’Achouffe and Bitburger. The RJ name is a little confusing too — it’s actually the result of a merger between breweries Le Cheval Blanc, GMT (see: Belle Gueule), and Brasseurs de l’Anse.

Given the pending approvals and, of course, winter, this new watering hole probably won’t come to fruition until next summer at the very least.

• Un biergarten en devenir près du parc Laurier [Métro]