When Tiger Lily Cafe opened in St. Charles just nine weeks before the 2024 Hinterland Music Festival, co-owners Ariana Mayo and Joe Nelson had no idea what to expect.
“We just thought, ‘No one’s going to have heard of us,’” Mayo said. The cafe, which offers coffee, drinks and small bites, hadn’t even launched its website when Hinterland’s Day 1 crowd rolled in last August.
The couple had long dreamed of owning a coffee shop. Mayo manages social media while working a day job at Nationwide Insurance, and Nelson runs the shop full-time. They saw the festival, which draws around 20,000 people to the small town of just 648, as a natural business boost. They stocked up on brunch cocktails like mimosas and Bloody Marys, preparing for the party crowd.
What they got was a baptism by fire.
“For about four or five hours, there was a line out the door. We ran out of everything,” Mayo said, recalling the flood of festivalgoers staggering in from the heat, seeking food, water and relief from temperatures that had soared into the 90s.
With no official staff yet, the shop was held together that weekend by Mayo, Nelson, her sister visiting from New York and a few friends. Some customers waited up to 30 minutes for a breakfast sandwich, but Mayo said guests were understanding. The cafe offers the only local coffee for miles and is one of just a handful of food and drink options in town.
“We were just winging it,” she said. “But the people of Hinterland, I have to say, are fantastic. They're some of the most laid-back, easygoing people.”
This year, Tiger Lily came better prepared. With employees on staff and an updated menu, the team leaned into lessons from their hectic debut.
Around noon on the final day of the 2025 festival, which saw fans who had waited hours pouring through the gates for headliner Lana Del Rey, the shop was busy but not overwhelmed.
“It’s been busy, but not hectic,” said Mayo’s sister, Rose Mayo. The more manageable pace was a welcome shift from the chaos of the year before. She credited the cooler weather, with temperatures hovering in the 70s, as well as the festival’s increased food offerings, which included more gluten-free and vegan options across the expanded grounds.
Tiger Lily also adjusted its approach based on customer feedback.
“People want a lot of fresh options, easy options, gluten-free, vegan, grab-and-go, protein, things like that,” Mayo said. “We know our sweets are loved. We know ice cream is loved. We know pizza is fun, but what we really heard was ‘lighter options.'"
The cafe’s connection to Hinterland runs deep. Mayo and her sister both went to the same high school as Festival Director Sam Summers, and Mayo said members of his team stop in for coffee every morning during festival weekend. This year, the festival handed out 150 free tickets to St. Charles residents at Tiger Lily in the days leading up to the event.
“It’s great to support someone you know who’s doing something big,” Mayo said. “It’s brought a lot of business down to us. We appreciate it. We appreciate being put on the map.”
