Little Victories coffee stand debuts at Bluesfest with espresso martinis and nitro brews

Little Victories, the Ottawa cafe chain, set up at Bluesfest for the first time, installing a coffee stand inside the festival grounds on July 18 to serve the crowds and crew at LeBreton Flats Park.

The late-afternoon rain delayed the festival's opening by about half an hour, giving barista Kyle Charron and his team time to brush up before the rush. "It was our busiest night" at the previous Bluesfest, Charron said, though he noted traffic depends heavily on the weather and who's headlining. On Saturday, while festivalgoers lined up at the merch tent across the way, only a few ventured to the coffee stand—mostly volunteers and festival workers seeking caffeine to start their shifts.

Little Victories brought its full coffee menu to the festival, including its signature nitro-cold brew (described as beer-on-tap style) and an espresso martini topped with vanilla cold foam. One patron, Eden Laprise, bought a full festival pass to explore artists she'd never heard of. She works evenings at La Cage in Gatineau and took time off to have a "festival summer." She preferred the espresso martini at Little Victories to other festival options, praising the sweet cold foam.

"It's so nice that you have a good coffee option here," Laprise said. "At Osheaga, they only had brewed coffee." She appreciated that Bluesfest offered smaller, local food choices compared to larger festivals.

For Charron, the festival offered a change of scenery from the usual morning coffee crowd. "It's generally a super excited crowd," he said of festivalgoers.