Bam Bam café opens in Vancouver with retro-futuristic interiors by McKinley Studios

A new all-day café and cocktail spot, Bam Bam, has opened at 160 W Georgia St in downtown Vancouver. The 2,800 square-foot interior was designed by McKinley Studios, led by architect Walker McKinley, in collaboration with owner Jess Reno, founder of the award-winning Nemesis Coffee. The design draws on 1990s nostalgia—baseball clubhouses, early record shops, and varsity iconography—blended with futurist elements. Features include waxed stainless steel counters, a curved cherry veneer bar, built-in speakers, a retro-futuristic metallic sofa and armchair, a green communal banquette table with an orb-like chandelier from Vancouver lighting studio A-N-D, and Pebble sconces near the entrance. A dedicated retail space with powder blue lacquer shelving sells Bam Bam's debut apparel collection, inspired by vintage varsity wear and featuring bulldog iconography. Paintings by Filipp Jenikae reference early hip hop and street photography. The menu offers classic coffees, specialty drinks (cherry pie matcha, apple pie latte, diner-inspired cream sodas), rotating pastries (strawberry shiso doughnut, honey sea salt roll), crispy fried chicken sandwiches, and evening cocktails (strawberry shiso negroni, hot honey margarita). The space is designed as a series of episodic interiors focused on different moments, emphasizing social interaction and music.