We are extremely proud to present these portraits of entrepreneurs on Laurier O! Photo source: Agence Culte
We are extremely proud to present these portraits of entrepreneurs on Laurier O!
Photo credit: Agence Culte
Léa Bégin discovered her passion for beauty thanks to her aunt Marie-Josée Lafontaine, a renowned makeup artist in New York. She started at MAC at 18, where she perfected her art by applying makeup to a wide variety of faces for three years.
I knew I wanted to become a makeup artist at the age of 14
For over 15 years now, Léa has thrived in the beauty industry. Her success is based on her willingness to climb every rung and a portfolio built with determination. What distinguishes Léa is her interest in natural, luminous, and transparent looks. She does not seek to transform, but to reveal authentic beauty to encourage well-being.
Beauties Lab is the culmination of my personal and professional experience
Beauties Lab, initially a blog and meeting place, is now well-established at the corner of Saint-Laurent and Laurier Ouest. The team of experts shares a common vision: to encourage informed consumption and modernize beauty rituals with an approach centered on pleasure and simplicity.
My greatest pride is my team and the daily impact we have on our community!
Laurier Street for her: a quiet, elegant, clean, luminous street, and her favorites: Lio Fratelli, Novanta, Myel Design, Leméac
Jean-Michel Blond, originally from Quebec City, has traced his path in the heart of Montreal for 15 years. From his first project in Verdun, Tripes & Caviar, to today, Jean-Michel has always dreamed of opening a Turkish-style beach club, and it is with this in mind that he recently became executive chef at Kabinet.
[at Kabinet and Datcha] You can literally spend your money there for 11 hours. You have eaten well, you have drunk well, you have danced, and you have repeated the equation several times!
Kabinet embodies a specific era, Paris 1971, French hospitality at its best. Jean-Michel creates menus that tell a story, mixing classic Parisian charm with a personal touch.
Laurier Ouest Street has always been in my sights
Laurier Street according to Jean-Michel: sexy, sumptuous, accessible, and eclectic, and his favorites: L’Émouleur, the Henrietta, the café Novanta.
Elisabeth had the opportunity to join the Lio Fratelli adventure at the end of the 90s, and this business has now existed for 24 years. It is with Léo and Lisette who together make Lio, two brothers and sisters, Fratelli, that Elisabeth worked very hard to build the reputation of Lio Fratelli on Laurier.
It was a very difficult start for Lio Fratelli. At the time, people were not used to getting treatments.
With her experience as an aesthetician in Brazil, Elisabeth has a great work ethic that has allowed her to acquire a vast clientele from Outremont and the Mile End, and more than fifteen employees under her wing.
We don’t just make clients here, we make friends!
For Elisabeth, it is a privilege and a pride to work closely with her two daughters. Natasha, rich in her experience alongside her mother, puts forward perseverance as the main value to instill in young entrepreneurs.
I am proud to give other immigrants the opportunity to earn a living as I earned mine
Laurier Street for Elisabeth: a chic and trendy street with well-maintained shops. Her favorites: Novanta café, Zen le pouvoir des Fleurs, the boutique François Beauregard and Natasha's: Henrietta, the Kabinet and Leméac.
It was a stroke of circumstances that led Marianne Côté to La Chronique. Before pursuing her studies in sommelier training in Toronto, she worked for several years in quality assurance in the pharmaceutical environment.
I wanted a nice place on a human scale. In short, a place that looks like me!
Marianne found her professional home at the renowned restaurant La Chronique. Its limited seating and attentive staff create a warm and professional ambiance. As head sommelier, she manages one of the most beautiful wine lists in Montreal, which allows her to meet winemakers from different wine-growing regions. She also participates in several events to follow wine trends and thus make purchases that contribute to the expansion of the list, which has been maintained for more than twenty-five years.
Before joining the team at La Chronique, Marianne worked in collaboration with marketing in the head office of a wine agency in Toronto. It was there that she discovered her passion for hosting conferences on the world of wine. A passion that led her to join a team of renowned Quebec sommeliers who give conferences in corporate and charitable settings.
I was born on Garnier Street at the corner of Laurier. For me, Laurier Ouest has always been a place of inspiration where trends move. It is a street on a human scale.
For Marianne, Laurier Ouest is unique and innovative, a place with atmosphere. Her favorites: Henrietta Bar, Novanta café
It has been 18 years since the restaurant Jun I was born, successfully going through multiple evolutions to become what it is today. From its very beginning, it distinguished itself by being one of the pioneers to offer a Japanese tasting menu, an innovative approach that immediately seduced lovers of Japanese cuisine.
It was time to start something new and I sought to combine the French-style tasting menu with traditional Japanese foods.
The soul of the restaurant, of course, is Junichi Ikematsu and his dedicated team who work hard to create unique and innovative dishes from the best Japanese ingredients presented in the tasting style of French classics
I am incredibly happy to be the chef of Jun I, and I love working with my team to share this happiness
Laurier Street for Junichi: an attractive street with good restaurants and beautiful shops. His favorite: Henrietta Bar
Danielle Gélinas always nurtured the dream of running her own boutique. Although she took sewing classes and made her own clothes, her academic path led her to study finance and work in the field of accounting. However, in 1989, a unique opportunity arose when Boutique 5e Avenue, which was only one year old at the time, welcomed her as a buyer. Over the years, she ended up buying the boutique from the two original owners, thus becoming the sole owner in 2003.
When you have a dream, you stay open to what might happen!
In 2023, Danielle emphasizes the importance of believing in one's dreams, whatever the trajectory taken, and of being patient. She encourages taking risks once the business is launched, and highlights the need for rigorous management while taking care of the clientele. In the field of fashion, she insists on the importance of being well-grounded, defining a plan and a specific niche, while cultivating solid relationships with the clientele.
Laurier Ouest is a street with a unique face with independent boutiques offering an exceptional range to a clientele that is looking for service and a customer experience.
Her greatest pride: her children and grandchildren!
Her favorites on Laurier Ouest: Leméac and Alvaro Coiffure.
Pierre Comeau has been a dentist for over 25 years and has been established on Laurier Ouest for 20 years now. Passionate about the aesthetics of the smile, Pierre is surrounded by a team that shares his passion and helps him transform smiles.
What drives me, my mission, is helping my patients have a beautiful smile their whole lives.
When he opened the Spa Dentaire in 2003, Pierre aimed to create a more positive dental experience. It is the soothing scent of eucalyptus, the attentive service, and even the presence of a massage therapist that relieve the discomfort of a major operation.
To have success as an entrepreneur, Pierre favors consistency and recognition above all, and it is with his team that he has the chance to practice his state of mind.
My greatest pride is the team I have assembled that helps me and brings out the best in me!
Laurier O Street for Pierre: a street with European refinement. His favorites: Leméac, Chez Lévêque
Maxime Vanasse traced a most atypical professional path. From a very young age, he displayed a pronounced entrepreneurial spirit. At the age of 14, he put his determination to good use by employing all his high school friends in a neighborhood painting business.
In the world of artists, they called me the businessman, and in the business world, they called me the artist.
It was within a large agency of varied artists that he acquired a large part of his skills and developed his passionate interest in the world of the arts. However, it was not until the age of 28 that he made the decision to create his own agency, after a short stint in the real estate sector.
What I would say to young people is to work in something they love, with heart, with conviction, and to do it as if it were their own business
Maxime has been in Outremont for 45 years, and for him, Laurier Ouest is like living European-style, with local businesses; it’s a chic street that is at the same time easygoing.
His favorites on Laurier O: Michel Brisson, Leméac and Bui Optométriste
I have a love affair with Laurier Street
For Philippe Dubuc, fashion represents a powerful means of expression, which incited him to launch himself into this industry. His path led him from the transformation of second-hand clothes to the creation of his own boutique, then finally to the adventure of Sarah Pacini Man. Today, he plays a leading role in the world of men's fashion.
To have a boutique is also a laboratory!
For Philippe, the success of a retailer is a continuous process, a daily effort rather than a simple mission. He emphasizes that this requires courage, passion, patience, but above all, a deep love for the clientele. Even as a newcomer to the street, he notes a very positive reaction from the local community.
Success is what we try to live every day
Laurier O is an avenue whose pulse he knows, and it is the interest of the clientele and their feeling of belonging to the neighborhood that motivated him to open the men's branch of Sarah Pacini.
We are proud to be here, to be in front of you to tell our story and to be part of all this beautiful world of Laurier O Avenue
His favorites: Datcha and Kabinet.
Jean-Daniel Rohrer is originally from Switzerland and migrated to Canada in 1989. After working in the field of communications, he made the decision in 2004 to devote himself entirely to his passion for painting.
Enthusiasm is not only the best salesperson, it is contagious!
The valuable advice he would offer to young aspirants would be to cultivate enthusiasm, to become their own best salesperson, and to master the art of communication.
I have always lived in Outremont, already just Laurier Ouest, there is an art of living.
For Jean-Daniel, Outremont is the green space of Montreal, where there is a joy of living and a particular niche for art. In particular, Laurier O is a wide street full of delicacy.
My greatest pride is to share my artistic journey with my daughter Katia who takes care of the gallery
His favorites on Laurier O: Gourmet Laurier, Mélilot, Leméac and Chez Lévêque
Michel Brisson has been on Laurier O Avenue for 33 years, and under the name Michel Brisson, his business has been thriving for 21 years. He discovered his love for the street while he was a university student taking the 51 bus line. It was by working on the street that he wove important ties with the clientele in order to respond to a more eclectic niche of the neighborhood.
You have to maintain, daily, like a garden, your business!
For Michel, when you have the sensitivity required, you just have to go for it and invest yourself to succeed in your environment.
Relentlessness, work, reflection, and things happen naturally, it becomes almost contagious
Laurier O, according to him, is the junction of the world of arts with the business world, and it is the junction of Outremont with the Mile End, two neighborhoods that are dear to him.
Laurier O in 2023 is still the street that would interest me most to start a business
His favorites: the Mélilot pastry shop, Leméac
Patrice Brunet is a businessman who has been practicing law for over 30 years. He made his debut as a volunteer for Triathlon Quebec in 1990, and is now an arbitrator at the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada, as well as the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. In addition, he manages a law firm specializing in sports and immigration.
Sport is a factor of development and change
In the field of immigration, he is dedicated to helping individuals build a better life and supporting businesses in filling labor gaps. He offers a standard of service equivalent to large law firms.
The basic rule, you must invest in yourself!
Patrice insists on the importance of using every available moment to enrich one's knowledge. For him, work should not be simply transactional, but rather an opportunity to acquire skills and knowledge that help us become the best in our field.
I have an emotional attachment to Laurier O Avenue, my parents were married at the Saint-Viateur church, my children were baptized there!
His favorites on Laurier O: Leméac, Henrietta L, Gourmet Laurier, Chez Lévêque, Valérie Simon
