Backyard ready to serve up fun in Ocoee

Josh and Andrea Halperin are holding a huge backyard party, and you’re all invited.

That’s the concept behind The Backyard, an outdoor food-truck restaurant experience coming to Ocoee that feels like a casual gathering in the yard behind your friend’s house.

The exterior of the restaurant looks like a typical house with typical landscaping. When you reach the front door, a sign reads, “Meet us in the backyard.” Upon entering the side fence gate, you’ll be greeted by the experience host at the check-in counter, which resembles a traditional residential kitchen.

“The story lends itself to that,” Josh Halperin said. “It is someone’s home, our home, and we love hosting people, and the party’s just expanded more and more, and we can’t provide the food ourselves, so we hire a vendor. And now we have six. And we still serve drinks … but we have a diverse selection of food out in the yard to satisfy every taste.”

This might seem like an ordinary food-truck event, where diners pay at each location. But here, guests open a tab that is used to purchase all meals, desserts and drinks. Each of the six food trucks will serve its own specialty cuisine and dessert options, and all drinks will be provided at a 24-tap self-serve station featuring beer and wine and maybe a cider and sangria, the Halperins said. Nonalcoholic drinks, such as sodas, teas and ice coffees will be offered as well.

A 1,000-square-foot covered patio will be full of tables and chairs, and seating also will be available in the yard around a firepit and at various umbrella tables.

There will be entertainment in the form of lawn games, scheduled live entertainment, trivia nights, movie nights. The Halperins are hoping to hold Wine Down Wednesdays and Jazz Nights too.

‘FOOD IS AT THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING’

The Halperins admit they are foodies.

“It’s all about experience for me,” Josh Halperin said. “I initially became a foodie in New York City living there in my 20s. … Going to eat and exploring interesting food was one thing, but the experience of spending the time somewhere with people you care about, that’s always what resonated with me … and sometimes taking three hours to just have this great meal with great company.”

“For me, (food) is such a huge part of life,” Andrea Halperin said. “Everything about this is an experience. … We don’t like chain restaurants. We want someone who has a story, who has passion for this, in a unique spot. And I want it to be good and interesting; it doesn’t have to be fancy.”

“Food is at the center of everything,” Josh Halperin added.

The owners were adamant about not offering food from chain restaurants.

“It all goes back to experience,” Josh Halperin said. “We’re giving our people a gathering place where they can spend time with their friends and family with food as part of the experience. That just resonates with us. That’s literally why we did this.

“With food trucks, we want to give people who love food trucks and who love food from food trucks the experience of a restaurant,” Josh Halperin said. “And we want to give the food trucks the experience of a restaurant.”

“We hope to be the Plant Street Market of Ocoee; it’s like a (Winter Garden) institution,” Andrea Halperin said. “We hope to be that mark on the place, where the community can feel, ‘Hey, that’s our spot.’”

WHAT FOOD TRUCKS ARE COMING?

• A LO CUBANO, owned by classically trained chefs Yojan Gonzalez and Lisa Plasencia, will offer elevated Cuban street food (authentic Cuban cuisine with a modern twist) with a mix of other Latin cultures. They have operated their food truck for almost eight years and love the idea that everyone will feel as if they are hanging out in the backyard, “just drinking, laughing and having a good time with friends and family.”

Photo by Jason Cannon

• CLUCKERZ CHICKEN, owned by Chris Manzano, Kim McCormick and Samantha Orand, will offer both hand-breaded and grilled chicken tenders, wraps, sandwiches, wings, and salads. Executive chef is Sarah Pickett. They make their seasoned flour from scratch, as well as their signature sauces, Cluck Sauce and House Made Ranch. In their 18 months of operation, they have received accolades in a fried-chicken showdown and from a local chicken restaurateur. Manzano was a founding partner of the Ocoee Community Market and said he always has had great support in Ocoee.

• PIZZA CULTURE is owned by Adam Lopez, who has more than 20 years of restaurant and hospitality experience. The five-month-old food truck will offer a modern take on classic Neapolitan pizza combined with several different American styles “rolled into one delicious pie” using long-fermented dough, top California tomatoes and his favorite Western New York mozzarella. He likes to push the limits of people’s palate, especially on “what they think should and shouldn’t go on a pizza.” Lopez’s food truck has been a regular at Toll Road Brewing Company in Ocoee.

• SMASH DUNK, owned by Paulo Pinto and Fabricio Fioravanti, will feature smashburgers made from their signature house-blend meat ground in-house, bacon-wrapped hot dogs, scratch-made sauces and handcrafted milkshakes. This will be the second location for the food truck, which debuted last May. The owners are eager to create a “fun, community-driven atmosphere where people can enjoy delicious food in a vibrant setting.”

• TAITO SUSHI, owned by Lucia Molinary and Jonattan Salazar, will offer sushi with a Caribbean twist. The menu includes signature rolls, tempura and sushi boats. They started operating their first food truck in May and are excited to open their second food truck at The Backyard because of its cool and vibrant concept.

• TBG BBQ (TWO BLACK GUYS AND A WHOLE LOTTA MEAT) is a brand-new food truck owned by Cameron Ryals and Drexter Ards, two culinarians who became brothers through their love for food and their upbringings. They take the flavors of their childhood and incorporate modern techniques in their barbecue, offering smoked and marinated meats, flavors from all over the world and even vegetarian and vegan options. “BBQ and backyards go hand in hand together,” the owners said. “It brings us back to our childhood of cookouts with family in the backyard and coming together to laugh and enjoy life.”