Anyone who worked in a corporate environment long enough knows that feeling of burnout, where you’ve invested so much into a machine that, no matter how much you give, always wants more. That was Sunny Ilyas, the owner of Vale Food Truck in Los Angeles, CA.
Even after working with some of the world's most innovative and successful companies, Sunny wanted a change. He wanted less corporate BS and way more personal passion. So, in 2019, he opened Elda, a bar at the same time a restaurant at the heart of Mission district, San Francisco, CA. Sunny loved it, and it was everything he had wanted and more. Then COVID struck. You can guess how things ended up.
But even though Sunny's passion project turned into a bittersweet experience, something stuck with him. At the time, the Elda team launched a to-go cocktail program. Bottled cocktails you could order from a site or an app — the same ingredients and quality you’d expect from a drink you ordered at a bar — delivered to doorsteps, public parks, wherever the customer wanted it. If they asked, they’d be there. They didn’t just provide a good sip; they respected their time.
Fast-forward a few years, Sunny Ilyas traded SF fog for LA sun and big tech campuses for walks down the Venice boardwalk. But whenever he’d stand in a long line waiting for a cup of coffee, forced to listen to customers make phone-book-length lists of substitutions, $7.50 for a cappuccino + a presented tip option of 20%, 22%, or 25%, he’d think about that to-go service.
Sunny would think about respecting people’s time.
So Vale was born: cold coffee drinks with thoughtful ingredients bottled in a to-go format. It’s coffee, matcha, and tea- how you want it, when you want it, and where you want it. No one wasting your time or doodling scribbles on your cup. It’s for people that have shit to do.
Let’s get stuff done.