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ValerEats will offer poffertjes — mini Dutch pancakes — on the truck with toppings such as (pictured above) sweetened condensed milk, fresh strawberries, bananas, whipped cream and Fruity Pebbles.
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A breakfast melt with scrambled eggs, bacon and cheese
Monica and Jayson Fuentes saw a gap in Richmond’s breakfast food truck market and decided to create their own, ValerEats, which is set to officially debut on Aug. 9.
The couple, who were both previously in the insurance business, felt inspired to leave behind their more conventional jobs to pursue their passion for food after the passing of a loved one.
“We were kind of growing [tired] of the 9-to-5,” Monica says. “We spent the majority of our time when we weren’t working cooking and tending toward our children, but last year, in September, we lost a family member, and we just realized life is too short to do something that you don't love.”
The food truck’s Instagram account states that it is “dedicated to our angel Aunt Val.”
Neither Monica, 34, nor Jayson, 40, have cooked in a professional capacity, but they both have experience in the restaurant industry.
“I started cooking almost 10 years ago, when I got pregnant with my twins,” Monica says. “I didn’t really know how to cook, so I got in the kitchen and taught myself everything I know.”
Monica has been involved in the Richmond food blogger community since 2019 through her Instagram account @mo_lovesfood. She recognized there was a gap, specifically with breakfast, in the food truck scene, which is how the concept for ValerEats came to be.
“I follow a lot of Richmond food trucks, and restaurants in general, and I noticed that there’s only two or three breakfast food trucks that I’ve been able to find in Richmond,” she says. “And I also just love to eat breakfast –– for lunch, dinner, a snack.”
The Fuentes plan on first opening outside the Lidl grocery in Henrico and making that a regular spot, as well as working with hospitals, including St. Francis, and the military base Fort Lee.
“We really want to cater to the morning crowd, because we have noticed there isn't really that out there in the market right now,” Monica says.
ValerEats will offer a variety of breakfast sandwiches and burritos, as well as poffertjes, Dutch-style mini pancakes, which Monica thinks will be a big draw, specifically for children, she says.
“It’s big in California right now, and I think it’s going to be something that’s very big here because nobody else from my understanding [serves it],” Monica says. “I've tried to do a lot of research before creating my menu, and I don't see that it’s being sold anywhere, so it'll be like mini pancakes with an assortment of different toppings.”
Some of the different toppings will include fruit, cereal, candy and ice cream.
Jayson, a native of Puerto Rico, has been in Richmond for 35 years, while Monica lived in Jacksonville, Florida, and in Houston before she moved to Richmond almost a decade ago.
Houston, as a much larger city, has a more prominent food truck culture than Richmond, Monica says, but she hopes the city’s food truck community continues to grow in the coming years.
“This has been a dream of ours for many years,” Monica says. “We feel incredibly blessed to see all of our hard work come to life and to finally be able to share our love for food with the Richmond community.”
To keep up with ValerEats on the road, follow @valereats_rva on Instagram.
