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Bernice Chan

The Hello Kitty Cafe in downtown Vancouver opens at noon, but it is common to see a small line of people waiting outside well before then.
Since the cafe launched in May, a steady stream of fans have come to check out their favourite cartoon feline-themed cafe.
On the ground floor of the two-storey space – which is mostly pink inside – there is a small area where customers can order drinks, cakes and ice cream, and buy merchandise, although the shelves are a bit bare.
“Sorry, we’ve run out of stock. Everything has been selling fast,” says Ken Lam Cheuk-hang, the cafe’s owner. Fans have snapped up the baseball caps, mugs, thermoses, keychains and badges; handbags, T-shirts and umbrellas are still available.

“They come to buy the merchandise because it’s exclusive to Vancouver,” he says. Shipments cannot arrive fast enough and items are sold as soon as they replenish the shelves.
Upstairs there is a small seating area with an alcove in the shape of Hello Kitty’s head. Customers sit there and take pictures – staff offer to help.
After the pandemic I noticed there were fewer meetings in person and I wanted to do something where people could meet in person, sit down and chat
Ken Lam Cheuk-hang, owner of Hello Kitty Cafe Vancouver
The cafe serves iced milk tea which has a subtle jasmine flavour. The mango coconut cake, with its layers of mango mousse, is light and not too sweet. There is also coconut-flavoured fresh cream and vanilla sponge cake which features a Hello Kitty head made of coconut mousse.
Popular menu items include the soft serve ice cream with a Hello Kitty taiyaki waffle , and the birthday cake – a square sponge with fresh cream covered in hundreds and thousands and adorned with a red bow of buttercream frosting.
Lam is pleased with how his business is doing. He anticipated the cafe would be popular, but not this popular.


On the cafe’s opening day, a queue of over 600 people snaked down several blocks. Hello Kitty fans Niki Chung and Kitty Jones started lining up at 7pm the night before to ensure they were the first to get into the cafe.
“The time actually went quite quickly, although it was a lot more windy that night than anticipated,” Chung says. “I lined up with my Hello Kitty bestie, so the excitement kept us going. And then soon after, more friends came to join the line-up so we just hung out all night. We took turns napping, but of course I was too excited to sleep!”
Lam holds the exclusive licence to open Hello Kitty Cafes across Canada. However, despite the first one’s success, he is not in a rush to set up the next location.

“I just want to make my customers happy,” he says, sipping his coffee from a pink Hello Kitty cup. He has seen young and old appreciate Hello Kitty, which turns 50 this year.
Lam previously worked for a large jewellery company in Hong Kong and flew back and forth between Hong Kong and North America.
He worked mainly in mergers and acquisitions and was also familiar with licensing. He made contacts at Sanrio as the jewellery company sold pieces featuring its Hello Kitty, My Melody, Kuromi, and Cinnamoroll characters.
Six years ago his wife and two daughters settled in Vancouver. On his way to and from Hong Kong, Lam would drop by to see his family.
You don’t need to go all the way to Japan for Hello Kitty
Ken Lam Cheuk-hang, owner of Hello Kitty Cafe Vancouver
When Canada closed its border with the United States in March 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Lam happened to be in Vancouver and could not travel. “I worked remotely and spent more time with my family, and wanted to stay here,” he says. He began thinking of what to do next.
“After the pandemic I noticed there were fewer meetings in person and I wanted to do something where people could meet in person, sit down and chat,” Lam says. He thought of opening a Hello Kitty Cafe.
His earliest memories of Hello Kitty came from his older sister, who collected Hello Kitty items. As a boy, Lam did not understand the appeal of the character.
“Why are there so many pink cats everywhere in the home?” he thought at the time. “There were toys, stuffed animals and stationery. I didn’t know what Hello Kitty was.”
But through his professional life he saw Hello Kitty’s global appeal, and his cafe project got the green light from Sanrio in the spring of 2022.

He says everything from the design of the cafe to the food and drinks to the merchandise is a collaboration between his team and Sanrio.
Lam plans to add more products like hoodies and knit hats, and items featuring other Sanrio characters, as well as more food and drink items to entice fans to return.
“We have so many fans from Toronto, England and across the border in Washington state who have come to the cafe,” he says.
Another diehard fan is Marisa Sopel, who came to the opening in a strapless white dress onto which she had sewn stuffed Hello Kitty toys. She lives a few blocks from the cafe and visits periodically.

“I feel so lucky to finally have something Hello Kitty in my city, and I only live 10 minutes away from the cafe, [where] everything is so pink and cute,” she says, adding she usually orders the Hello Kitty taiyaki waffle cone and an iced caramel coffee.
Sopel, who has been collecting Hello Kitty for almost 40 years, says the cat is “so kawaii”, adding: “She always puts a smile on your face and gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside.”
Lam has met many fans like Sopel through the cafe.
“You don’t need to go all the way to Japan for Hello Kitty,” he says, adding it is thanks to his older sister introducing him to the famous cat that he can bring happiness to others in Vancouver.


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Hello Kitty poses at the food and drinks counter in the Hello Kitty Cafe Vancouver. Its owner, Ken Lam Cheuk-hang, talks about the cafe’s unexpected success, and bringing joy to fans from Canada and beyond. Photo: Hello Kitty Cafe Vancouver

Hello Kitty fans at the Hello Kitty Cafe Vancouver after purchasing merchandise. Photo: Hello Kitty Cafe Vancouver

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Vancouver politicians and Sanrio executives joined Ken Lam and Hello Kitty at the ribbon cutting. Photo: Hello Kitty Cafe Vancouver.

Niki Chung (left) and Kitty Jones at the Hello Kitty Cafe. The pair queued up overnight to ensure they were the first in line on the opening day. Photo: Niki Chung

Fans outside the Hello Kitty Cafe Vancouver. Lam says that the design, food and merchandise at the cafe are all a collaboration with Sanrio. Photo: Niki Chung

Hello Kitty fan Marisa Sopel at the Hello Kitty Cafe, which she lives only blocks away from. Photo: Marisa Sopel

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