Project Spotlight January 16, 2023

A small Canadian coffee chain shows its flower power

How Nemesis Coffee brought energy—and community—to a quiet area of Vancouver.
Nemesis Coffee at Great Northern Way
Project
Vancouver, BC
Location
Perkins&Will
Designed by

Having worked in cafés throughout his youth, Vancouver native Jess Reno became passionate about coffee from an early age. Today, that passion has been realized in his homegrown brand Nemesis, which is committed to sustainably sourced ingredients and personal relationships with coffee farmers. Reno opened the first Nemesis location in Vancouver in 2017, followed by a second in 2019. For the third, he wanted something different. “[As a consumer], you can look at most coffee shops and say, ‘I’m sure it’s fine, I’ll go here.’ We didn’t want that,” he says. “We wanted something beautiful and mind boggling, something that transformed the city.”

“Our exposure has gotten so much better since it opened. It has had a resounding positive impact on Nemesis and has expanded the possibilities for our future.”
Jess Reno, Founder and CEO, Nemesis Coffee