Creator of Canada’s Best Coffee shop launches new concept in Vancouver

Info:bambam.cafe

It’s been said that you don’t drown by falling into water, you drown by staying there. Jess Reno aptly models that survival metaphor. One might assume privilege and a university education leveraged his savvy moves growing his Nemesis Coffee bars, of which there are five.

He’s definitely crushing it. Recently, the World’s 100 Best Coffee list placed Nemesis as No. 15, globally, recognized for its coffee and coffee culture. It placed No. 1 in Canada, and No. 4 in North America/Central America/Caribbean. Last year, Dope Bakehouse, Nemesis’s crowd-pleasing bakery arm, opened as a stand-alone store offering great Viennoiserie items, such as pistachio raspberry Suisse, cardamom bun, citrus rice pudding cruffin, as well as some savories.

Reno’s life was, in fact, the inverse of privilege. His indomitable, positive spirit fought through poverty (he stopped attending between Grade 11 and 12 to work and help his single dad with food and rent) and other hardships. “I was getting into trouble back then.” He talked of gun and street violence and other difficulties. “I’ve formed some memories that are deeply sad but I’m grateful for the life lessons. To this day, I have spidey senses and can read people quickly. It was a defence mechanism and now I use it when I’m hiring and I’m 95 to 99 per cent right.”