Natalie Vu will work to find a snack that’s right for you.
Vu’s career as a snackist was launched three years ago in San Jose where she worked as a server in a restaurant and at a milk tea shop. Trying to bolster her tips, she bought rice paper at the market, seasoned it with chili oil in her own kitchen, and sold it to friends.
That’s contrary to the usual snack cycle, which she says slows during the summer when salons are at their busiest. “Techs work opening until close without eating,” she says. “They are busy making money. Just focusing on their jobs.”
Plus she has bigger plans: “I want to open a milk tea-snack shop in the future. But I absolutely will open a nail salon in the next two years first.” In the meantime, after a successful pop-up at an Argyle street fair earlier this spring, she’s eager to connect to people doing collaborative food events in the alternative economy. “I want to promote my brand to American people,” she says. “I want them to try how Vietnamese people eat snacks,” she says. “So when you talk about Vietnam, it’s not just about pho.” v
