Espresso bar tries to rise from ashes
I don’t mean to keep posting gofundmes, but a small espresso bar in Old Montreal was hit with a firebomb recently, presumably in error for an adjoining business which also got hit. The Micro Espresso on St‑Pierre was badly damaged and is trying to amass funds so it can reopen in time for this summer tourism season. Gofundme is here.
DeWolf 12:16 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
It’s related to the extortion ring stories you shared below – A5 Hospitality (Flyjin etc.) seems to have gotten into trouble with some mafia types and their businesses and homes are being targeted. Micro Espresso had the bad luck to be located next to an A5 restaurant and the idiot teenagers who set the place on fire probably assumed they were under the same ownership.
Blork 12:55 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
It’s a shame because that’s a nice little café.
Blork 13:00 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
I read somewhere that these arson jobs are operating on a gig basis, like Uber for Arson. (Uber Burns?) Basically the extortionist pays one of their thugs a bunch of money to do the job, then the thug gigs it out to a teenager for a few hundred bucks. That is vile and disturbing on so many levels.
Joey 13:59 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
@Blork that was Pat Lagace’s article in La Presse the other day – this is one of the beats he’s still really solid on (I’d say a full 1/3 of his writing, which has gotten rare now that he’s a radio guy, is of the ‘old many yells at clouds’ variety, i.e., his piece last month complaining about having to sit through an opening act before seeing Martha Wainwright perform).
Blork 14:51 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
Right you are Joey. And yeah, that rant about opening acts… although I confess I agree with some of it but only because I’m not 25 years old anymore.
To be fair, he did mention a few times that he’s old(er) and not typically a show-goer. But I do recall that even in my youth I was sometimes annoyed by how long the opening acts went on and how late before the main act showed up. In my case this was only an issue when it was a standing-room only show, not when I had a seat.
The last REALLY BIG show I went to was a million years ago when I was in my late 20s. It was a mega-show at the Big Owe, and we had floor tickets (standing). The first act opened late, sounded bad (acoustics) and went on forever. Then a long break and the second act came out, which sounded only slightly better (but still bad). Then another long break. By the time the main act started up we had been standing on a concrete floor for something like four hours and my back was absolutely killing me. By the time the show was over I was so stiff and locked up I could barely walk.
But that’s just me. I didn’t write an article about it.
Kate 15:34 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
Patrick Lagacé on the Uberisation de l’extorsion.
Uatu 16:38 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
I think he’s been watching too much Westworld lol
https://westworld.fandom.com/wiki/RICO
Ian 17:40 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
On the subject of opening acts I know that at foufs at least they fine them if they go over time!
Joey 21:00 on 2025-06-04 Permalink
In the last (and probably now) you could call the venue for set times. Now you can go to setlist dot fm, where set times are frequently posted for recent shows.
DeWolf 01:40 on 2025-06-05 Permalink
Every main act was once an opening act, so why the hate?
Ian 07:35 on 2025-06-05 Permalink
No hate, I was actually at Foufs to see the opening act 😀