Right in the center of downtown Menlo Park on Santa Cruz Avenue, Bistro Vida stands as a go-to French restaurant. Since its founding, founder and owner Ali El Safy has built a community for himself in Menlo Park. Having lived in Paris prior to moving to the Bay Area, Ali El Safy brought with him Parisian bistro culture and French cuisine to his restaurant.
El Safy’s journey to Menlo Park was a long one. He was born in Cairo, but also lived in Paris and New York City before making his way to California.
“I was always in the restaurant business, since the age of 16,” El Safy said. He also worked in New York until he decided to drive across the country to the Bay Area.
While working as a waiter in Palo Alto, El Safy got the opportunity to open his first restaurant, a Mexican spot called La Luna. However, his dream was to create something that reflected his own background and heritage. When a local creamery in Menlo Park was preparing to close, El Safy jumped at the chance to take it over—marking the start of Bistro Vida.
Bistro Vida officially opened its doors in 1998. “The community was very supportive of it,” El Safy said.
Since coming to Menlo Park, El Safy has fully embraced it as his home. “My two kids were born here and grew up in Menlo Park and so I got to know a lot of kids growing up, and their parents, and their grandparents,” he said.
While El Safy has considered creating a second Bistro Vida location in the past, managing just one location has allowed him to stay committed to his local roots and hands-on approach to running the restaurant. “Everything I did was local, from my kids going to local schools, to my dry cleaner being local, and my coffee place being local,” he said.
“I don’t run it like it’s a business or restaurant, I run it more like we’re neighbors, and you come into my house to eat,” El Safy added.
Like many restaurants, Bistro Vida faced uncertainty during the pandemic. With indoor dining shut down, the bistro had to rely solely on takeout and delivery, which proved to be a challenge for a restaurant built around in-person dining. El Safy credits Bistro Vida’s survival to his loyal clients. “A lot of our regular client supporters were ordering to-go or buying gift certificates for the future, and that helped a lot,” he said.
Over the course of the entire pandemic, El Safy didn’t lose a single employee. “I kept all of my employees because they relied on me,” El Safy said. “I wanted to make sure that they had food and their families fed.”
The pandemic brought a feature that has since become a staple to Bistro Vida— its outdoor seating. “I wanted it to be nice, I wanted the ambience from the inside to be on the outside also. People also like seeing outdoor seating because it’s very European, and that’s something really nice that people enjoyed,” El Safy said.
Right after the pandemic, Harvest, the business right next door to Bistro Vida, became available. El Safy saw the potential to establish a bar in its place. “My oldest is 25 years old, and when they come home for Thanksgiving or Christmas, it’s really boring, there’s nothing to do. So this is something for them,” he said.
After a lot of planning and brainstorming, Bar Loretta was born. Two doors connect the bar to Bistro Vida, allowing finger food from the restaurant to be served alongside drinks. El Safy envisioned it as a space for all ages, whether they are grabbing a drink after dinner, or stopping by after a show at The Guild.
“My first priority in the community is the ones that have really supported both my businesses like Bistro Vida for all these years and now Bar Loretta. So I’m giving something back to the community that they will enjoy,” El Safy said. “It’s not about the money, it’s more about the vision and something else for the downtown. If you come downtown at nine o’clock, everything is closed, except us.”
Aside from Bistro Vida and Bar Loretta, El Safy has made many other contributions to downtown Menlo Park. During the pandemic, he installed outdoor benches to create safe, socially distanced gathering spaces. He also created the bike lane that runs through Santa Cruz Avenue. One of his biggest additions to downtown Menlo Park is Bon Marché Alameda, a French-inspired market. The market showcases food, art, and the culture of small businesses and local farmers in the community.
“I’m trying to make changes since I’ve been here for so long, and I’d like to see my city vibrant, and I’d like to see my city thriving,” El Safy said.
El Safy’s advice to aspiring restaurant owners is to be passionate about your work, and always value the relationships that you build. “If you have a plan, and you work hard, and you’re part of the equation, then that’s the kind of businesses that are successful,” he said.
El Safy also expressed deep gratitude to the community that has supported him throughout the years. “I’m really thankful to all these people for really taking care of me, my business, and my employees. I always say, one hand doesn’t clap, two hands clap. I couldn’t have done my business without the loyalty of my coworkers. We’ve come a long way from years and years of working together,” El Safy said.
