The Backyard party has started

From the outside, The Backyard appears as a home with a fence around it, but as guests walk past the wood fence, they enter a haven of food trucks, drinks and outdoor party activities. 

After having two kids, Josh and Andrea Halperin, the owners of The Backyard, grew a passion for throwing backyard parties to bring together friends and their children. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and life slowed down, Josh and Andrea Halperin came to the realization they loved hosting parties and questioned why they weren’t doing that for a larger community. 

“Those parties, along with our experiences that we’ve had across the country, around the world, at different dining experiences, different drinking, bar experiences…bringing all of those ideas together to create what we believe is the ideal experience for our location,” Josh Halperin said. 

The Halperins envisioned a place the community could come for food, drinks and a sense of backyard fun. Their four-year dream turned into a reality on Tuesday,  June 10, when they officially opened The Backyard. 

Prior to officially opening, the Halperins did a three-week “soft opening,” to give the community a sense of the property while they were in the final stages of preparation. During those weeks, Andrea Halperin said the turnout was much larger than expected and they were in a “constant game of catch up.” They ordered more chairs and picnic tables to accommodate their guests. 

For opening day, the Halperins cut the ribbon at 5:05 p.m. and brought out live music and face painting. With Florida’s unpredictable weather, opening day didn’t go completely to plan. They had a large turnout but two hours into the celebration, the skies let loose with sideways rain and lighting. 

“Everyone’s huddled on the patio,” Andrea Halperin said. “Our musician, who was out under a tent, came under the patio and most people stayed and hung out and just kept drinking.” 

Since then, she feels they have begun to settle into their grove after catching up to the large number of guests coming out. 

“I was very happy with the community coming out; it was super, super busy,” said Adam Lopez, the owner of Pizza Culture, one of the food trucks at The Backyard. “As you know, rain hurts things, but if it’s not raining, as soon as the rain clears, there’s so many people, it’s just packed.” 

On the property are six permanent food trucks: Cluckers Chicken, Pizza Culture, Smash Dunk, Taito Sushi, TBGBBQ and A Lo Cubano Kitchen. 

Andrea Halperin said each food truck was hand selected because of the diverse food selections they offer. Also, each truck’s uniqueness allows them to stand out and not be in competition with the others. 

Four of the six food trucks never have had a permanent location before The Backyard.

“I wasn’t sure if we were going to do a permanent spot or not, but the theme fit really well with us,” Lopez said. “Both of our main focus is making people happy, bringing people together and that’s what it’s like, communal dining.”

To find the food trucks the Halperins put an all-points bulletin out and information into different Facebook groups. Once truck owners began to reach out, they did interviews and tasted the food to ensure the quality was how they wanted it.

“We had a call, then (the Halperins) came up to the truck and they liked the pizza and the rest was history,” Lopez said. 

They won’t be adding any additional food trucks because the property backs up to a retention pond but Josh Halperin said most importantly, they want the food trucks to succeed. 

“If we were to add more food trucks, we would lose the business for each of them,” Josh Halperin said. “It’s a very collaborative environment where we want to make sure that all ships arrive.” 

The owner of A Lo Cubano Kitchen, Yojan Gonzalez, knew the Halperins years before becoming a part of The Backyard. When the pandemic hit, they disconnected but Gonzalez saw the Halperins were breaking ground so he reached out. 

“I think it’s a really good vibe, like really laid back so you’re on your own,” Gonzalez said. “You don’t have to stand in line to make an order.”

To enhance the casualness of The Backyard and the environment of a backyard party, the Halperins decided on a QR code ordering process. They placed codes all over the property and at the front of all food trucks. Guests can order from as many places as they’d like and everything stays on one tab. 

“The system is really cool because from the guest’s perspective, you scan a QR code, you find a seat and you do everything,” Gonzalez said. “You send your orders on the phone and then you just wait for the food to be ready.” 

For families, the Halperins wanted to solve the problem of having to constantly get up to run back and forth to different food options to make everyone happy. The text notification that’s sent when food is ready takes away that step. 

They chose that ordering system because it also enhances the experience of the self-serve 24 drink tap wall. Once guests connect their phone to the wall, it automatically tracks how much they pour and adds it to the tab. The wall options rotate seasonally and are made up of hyper-local, local and national beers, as well as cider, wine and alcoholic teas. 

The Halperins were on a family trip to California and an outdoor venue they visited as well as other places they’ve tried in the world inspired the tap wall. 

“We were like kids in a candy story, we’re like, ‘This is so fun,’” Andrea Halperin said. “I would taste a couple different things and I loved that. When you’re outside, if it’s warmer, you can pour half a glass of beer and it’s not going to get warm. There’s all kinds of advantages to it.”

It takes a minute to set up the machine because it has to connect to the phone and check IDs to make sure they can drink. The Halperins said they haven’t had many issues with guests figuring out the system and said they’ve received wonderful feedback. 

“It maintains the experience because if you were at someone’s house and you wanted another drink, you would go up to wherever they set out the drinks and grab yourself another drink, and you go back and relax,” Josh Halperin said. 

When people are ready to head home, they can pay in three different ways: stop at the checkout window, pay on their phones or forget to pay the tab and the system will automatically close it out at the end of the day. 

The Halperins said they carefully researched companies for the ordering system and other dining venues to bring together The Backyard. They considered all of their experiences and questioned how each could be improved for the guests. 

Scattered across the lawn are outdoor activities and a station with games. The Halperins have been overjoyed seeing their business bring the community together.