MONTREAL — Laurier Gordon Ramsay has opened its doors, kick-starting a new era at the iconic Montreal location that housed Rotisserie Laurier BBQ for 75 years.

Laurier BBQ was an institution, so the move by Ramsay to reinvent the failing business was not necessarily embraced by critics. Nonetheless, the celebrity chef is clearly passionate about pleasing his patrons. "I'm a control freak, so I want to get this one right first, focus on this one, silence the critics, let them know we haven't damaged their goods," he told The Canadian Press prior to opening.

MONTREAL — The team behind RestoMontreal, a Montreal-based Internet restaurant guide, is launching RestoBoom, a special-offers program with dining discounts of 50 to 90 per cent.

The new site is the result of a partnership with the Laval, Que.-based, five-location, Houston Restaurants of Canada. “We have been working with RestoMontreal.ca for many years, and it has been a great marketing tool for all our restaurants,” said Manuel Moreau, vice-president of Houston Restaurants.

ROUGEMONT, Que. — Quebec’s Lassonde Industries is buying the New Jersey-based Clement Pappas and Co., for US$390-million, in an effort to build its pure fruit juice and fruit drink processing and marketing business in the U.S.

Lassonde, which operates facilities in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, processes its freshly squeezed juices under a variety of brand names, including Allen's and Oasis.

Clement Pappas is the second-largest producer of store-brand, ready-to-drink fruit juices in the U.S. with approximately 630 employees and sales of US$390-million for fiscal 2010.

When the sale closes, Lassonde will own 71 per cent of Clement Pappas, while the Pappas family will retain 19 per cent and the Lassonde family will hold 10 per cent.

BOUCHERVILLE, Que. — Danone Canada has launched a new volunteer program that will link its employees with local organizations.

“The program … reflects our vision of being a responsible company, a vision that dictates we must be a company that is implicated in the development of its community and contributes to improving its quality of life,” said Louis Frenette, president and CEO of Danone Canada.