The local businesses that get invited to be vendors at Coachella, like Everboom Coffee and TKB Bakery and Deli, usually have brick-and-mortar locations—but this year, a local food-truck-based business has joined them with a booth on the festival grounds.
Valley Fusion is a mobile sushi truck that pops up at events all over the desert—and during Coachella and Stagecoach weekends, attendees can find them in the 12 Peaks VIP section, across from the Aperol booth.
During an onsite interview with owner Alexis Jimenez, he said the business landed a spot at Coachella after vending at another Goldenvoice event.
“We’re based out of Palm Springs, and we do quite a bit of festivals all over California,” Jimenez said. “They had seen us at a festival last year, and they invited us to do Cali Vibes, and we did great there, so they invited us to Coachella fest.”
Jimenez said he’s enjoyed visiting with Valley Fusion’s local fans at Coachella—and at non-local festivals as well.
“A lot of locals know us,” Jimenez said. “We travel doing events everywhere, so we do have a crowd of people that look for us. We’re very unique when it comes to our sushi. We have sushi burritos and all types of different sushi fusion rolls.”
This unique fusion of sushi rolls, burritos, musubi and even teriyaki bowls are a large part of what has made Valley Fusion so popular. Right before my interview, someone waiting for their food told me: “Try something. I have a feeling you’ll be coming back.”
“We get a lot of people who come back every single day after they try our food,” Jimenez said. “My wife makes all the sauces—like mango sauce, eel sauce, cilantro sauce—and they’re mouthwatering. That’s why they come back all the time.”
Serving at Coachella has allowed the Valley Fusion crew to have a dedicated place to remain for the entirety of each weekend—which is much different than having to cook on wheels. That said, Jimenez currently no plans for Valley Fusion to have a brick-and-mortar location.
“When it comes to Coachella fest, it’s one of the biggest in the world, so you have to be ready and prepared to serve thousands of people.”
Valley Fusion owner Alexis Jimenez
“To be honest, we actually love the mobile services,” he said. “We like to travel. We like to do events, and we like to see new faces all the time. We’d like to expand our company and our business to different areas, so for now, we just plan on expanding our mobile business.”
Jimenez offered some advice to other local businesses that get invited to become a Coachella vendor.
“You’ve got to be very, very prepared,” he said. “I suggest you do quite a bit of festivals before you come to this one. If you’ve already have some under your belt, just be ready to serve a lot. It’s nonstop. When it comes to Coachella fest, it’s one of the biggest in the world, so you have to be ready and prepared to serve thousands of people.”
The rush of Coachella attendees made Valley Fusion’s crew very busy.
“You have to be ready to produce big numbers, and you’ve got to be fast,” he said. “Your team has to be very fast when somebody orders … and your orders cannot take more than two minutes.”
Jimenez expressed pride at being able to share his crew’s sushi fusions at one of the world’s largest events.
“We do all types of different sushi rolls when it comes to shrimp tempura, crab, avocado and spicy tuna. We have sushi burritos, and we have chicken teriyaki for the ones who don’t like sushi and spam musubi,” Jimenez said. “You also can’t forget our drinks—our strawberry horchata, and cucumber lemon and strawberry lemonade. Everything’s made with real fruit, and it’s mouthwatering, one-of-a-kind.”
For more information, visit instagram.com/valleyfusions.