Ondrejana “Onie” Zatek’s mother taught her how to parallel park in a conversion van on Carson Street. Little did she know that years later, it would come in handy parking her mobile coffee truck made from a refurbished ambulance.
Zatek opened Vital Sips in March 2024. Since then, the woman-owned, LGBTQ-led business has made itself vital to the community, saving Pittsburghers who are low on caffeine and need an energy boost while also supporting local small businesses.
Zatek’s family comes from a healthcare background, and in high school she worked in a hospital kitchen.
“I’ve done nursing aid stuff, too, but it was not my forte,” she tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “I wanted to make a difference in the community I live in and somehow give back.”
That is how Zatek came up with the name of her business, to be like ambulances, hospitals, and nursing homes — vital to the community.
Vital Sips runs entirely on local supplies. The cookies Zatek sells are from Good L’Oven in Bellevue. Her coffee is from 19 Coffee Company in Baldwin. The chocolate-covered espresso beans sold in clever little pill bottles that say “Everyone needs a little caffeine prescription” are from Pink House Chocolates in Finleyville. Schorin, a party and catering supply company in the Strip District, is where Zatek gets her cups and lids. Vital Sips’ logo was even designed by a local business: Ice 9 Studio, a tattoo and piercing shop on the South Side.
Zatek also donates her coffee grounds to local community gardens. She has previously donated to the Plant2Plate Student Garden Program at Pitt, which manages an urban garden near main campus and gives fresh produce to students and local food pantries. She also recently contacted ZeroFossil, a sustainable production company in Munhall.
“They’re a pretty cool organization, and the guy who runs it, Steve, has a garden, and he said he’d take some of my grounds,” Zatek says. “I get so many grounds; they back up faster than what some companies can take.”
In addition to utilizing local businesses to run her own small business, Zatek donates quarterly to a charity. In the last six months, Vital Sips has donated to causes supporting food insecurity, women’s rights, mental health, and youth programs. Vital Sips also appears at events, where Zatek will donate a portion of the proceeds to the host organization.
“I go to St. Therese in Munhall, so 10% of whatever I make goes to them,” says Zatek, who has done the school’s Trunk or Treat program, Back to School Day, and Blessing of the Backpacks.
She’s also worked at events for the Carrick Athletic Association, Steel Valley Soccer, the Susan G. Komen More Than Pink Walk, and many others.
“If you want to book me, just go onto my Facebook or Instagram page, or email or call me,” she says. “Otherwise, I’m basically roaming.”
When we spoke, Zatek was set to be at two local farmer’s markets and a fundraiser in White Oak the coming weekend. The ambulance is also at Mercy Hospital many mornings.
Speaking of the refurbished ambulance, Zatek’s is a 1997 Freightliner, originally from Tamarac, Fla. It was driven to Ohio, where it was converted, and Zatek picked it up to drive it to Pittsburgh to put the finishing touches on it.
“It has everything you need in a coffee shop, plus other things you don’t expect, like blood bag hangers,” Zatek says. Zatek fills those blood bags with iced coffee.
Eventually, Zatek would love to add pastries like cinnamon buns, but due to Department of Health regulations, and the fact that she doesn’t have a kitchen to prep items in, she is only able to provide pre-made desserts for now.
You can catch Vital Sips until the first week of November, when the truck shuts down. Unfortunately, Zatek learned the hard way last year when she tried to run Vital Sips during a Pittsburgh winter and her water lines froze.
During her offseason, you can catch Zatek and Vital Sips at Crash Cart, a pop-up she created that sells hot coffee and tea, hot chocolate, cider, cold brew, and iced tea (basically everything but the plumbed-in espresso machine).
“I can take my little cart inside and make drinks,” she adds. “That way, I can still keep my name out there.”
This article appears in Sept. 24-30 2025.
