I was like damn. She fine.

I’m nineteen. She’s twenty-three. 

I’m a bus boy. She’s a bartender.

I mopped her floors.

At first only literally.

She made me nervous.

Rest your ear on a rabbits’ chest. That nervous.

I didn’t sound like myself when I spoke to her.

It was like my voicemail greeting was doing all the talking.

When the courage words finally came out she said yes.

The next night she picked me up in her red convertible Ford Mustang GT.

We drank margaritas and ate nachos.

***********************

If we didn’t drink margaritas and eat nachos on the first date there never would have been a second.

And for sure without margaritas and nachos she wouldn’t have moved in fourteen days later.

She talked to me a lot about California so we moved here.

We drank margaritas and ate nachos at Marix on Kings Road, and with Henry Rollins at the El Compadre next to the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Ralphs” on Sunset.

We moved from West Hollywood to Venice to Chinatown.

We drank margaritas and ate nachos at the old Barragans in Echo Park and upstairs at El Conquistador in Silverlake.

I was running on Echo Park Avenue in 2009 when she called me.

That “If you want to make God laugh tell him about your plans” saying

applies here.

We thought there was only one, but the egg cracked like Obama’s “I’m always on the left” joke.

We named the identical twin people Everson and Royce.

Margaritas and nachos. I love them. They’ve given me way more than I’ve ever given them.

So now it’s our turn to say thank you.

And give margaritas and nachos the bright spotlight they so deserve.

Because without them none of what you just read ever would have happened.

Including Vamos. Vamos.

bios

April + Randy clement

co-owners + the “she” in the poem is April and the “he” is Randy

we've come a long way since the red mustang and our first apartment together in Albuquerque

way back then we knew that we wanted to open a business but we had no idea what kind

what we did know is that we wanted to do it in a major metropolitan American city where it would be diabolically cut throat, super competitive, and if we made it it might mean something

and since neither of us had ever been to New York or LA ( but we definitely liked the Lakers more than the Knicks ) we decided to dtlrive here

once in LA we worked at all kinds of different places looking to meet people to believe in the ideas that we didn't have yet

then our life changed forever when we opened our first business: silverlake wine in Silverlake

from that little shop (which isn't little anymore) we met fantastic people who believed in us and helped us making more things happen

over the next years we added Everson Royce Wine Shop in Pasadena, Highland Park Wine, Triple Beam Pizza (s) , Hippo, Everson Royce Bar (E.R.B.) plus many exciting new things opening in 2023

we now live way up in the woods Altadena with our still twin identical sons Everson ( Bones ) and Royce, a cat named Echo, and a black lab named Francis 

we are thankful for everything and still can’t believe that it all started with some nachos and margaritas

Jaime Paulino

executive chef

chef Jaime Paulino, the culinary maestro infusing our kitchen with a blend of street-smart creativity and a palate for bold flavors.

a SoCal native, Jaime's culinary journey took an unconventional turn as he traded textbooks for hands-on experiences, forging a unique culinary style. driven by the philosophy that cooking is a team sport, inspired by his love for baseball, Jaime approaches each dish with a collaborative spirit. his commitment to perseverance (drawn from his skater lifestyle) mirrors the dedication he brings to the kitchen.

raised by influential women, Jaime's culinary foundation comes from his mother and grandmother, and a special nod to his aunt for instilling a deep appreciation for the art. 

off-duty, Jaime cruises LA's culinary landscape searching for his favorite comfort food, loaded mashed potatoes, savoring literature, with "Lord of the Flies" as a favorite read and avoiding paying for parking wherever possible. chef Jaime's culinary universe, where every dish is a canvas, is a telling a story woven with passion, perseverance, and a dash of rebellion.

Emely Cubias

co-owner + general manager

she loves restaurants and bars so much she spends all her extra time checking the new ones out. L.A. has been her home since she was born, which wasn't that long ago, seeing that she received the very prestigious "30 under 30" Zagat Award in 2016.

if she didn't co-own and run Vamos Vamos, she might very well own a farm, because she is such a sucker for animals (iykyk...)

her favorite thing to drink while listening to the "Elvis in Memphis 1969" live album is either a passionfruit la croix or a mezcal negronis. emely can't get enough of meeting new people which is great, because she met a kajillion of them during her time as general manager at The Raymond 1886 in Pasadena, Everson Royce Bar (E.R.B.) in the Arts District and then at HiPPO in Highland Park.

Always and forever in search of "more", she has found her favorite "more" of all time at Vamos Vamos.