Slipaway Food Truck Park & Marina opening ‘spectacular’
The opening weekend of Slipaway Food Truck Park & Marina went better than the owners had anticipated, complete with an incredible buzz of those that patronized the park.
“It went spectacular,” Slipaway Food Truck Park & Marina co-owner Gary Aubuchon said. “The opening evening – 4th of July – could not have gone better. We were very fortunate the weather cooperated with us, too. The buzz within Slipaway was palpable. People were very excited to have a waterfront destination of this caliber in Southwest Florida. Everyone I talked to over the weekend was genuinely excited that this destination was theirs to go to anytime.”
The facility has 10 food truck spots, a marina with 26 boat slips, as well as space for four gas docks, slip store, six pavilions and a main pavilion with a bar, and seating on the water and by the store.
“We began talking about this project almost three years ago. It’s great to see the central pavilion today. It looks like they’re calling that area The Helm. We designed the space to be something very casual with a lot of clean lines. I think it’s a great space for family and friends to gather,” Amber Vitale, interior designer for the Wegman Design Group, said.
Aubuchon said they have 75 employees – servers, bartenders, dock hands and individuals working at the slip store.
“I was there for lunch yesterday with my wife, and the place at noon was almost completely full. By 1 p.m. it was. When we left there was a line of cars waiting to be parked by the valet and all the boat slips were full,” he said Monday morning.
Aubuchon said what he was really excited to see for lunch Sunday were the various ways in which people engaged with the trucks.
Every table has a QR code that gives patrons an opportunity to order from any of the 10 trucks and have their food brought to them. Individuals can also go up to the trucks and order what they would like.
“It was great to see people doing both things – walking from truck to truck and placing their orders and others sitting at their table in the main bar pavilion, or six individual pavilions and the servers bringing food out,” he said. “One of the servers shared that he got 32,000 steps on Saturday. Slipaway has its very own wellness plan.”
General Manager John Torres reviewed more than 140 food truck applicants and chose the best 10, based on the quality of food, level of friendliness, services and cleanliness.
“Every food truck has a unique cuisine. We have 10 different restaurants in one location,” Aubuchon said.
Not Yo Mama’s Tacos food truck owner Vanessa Franco said they’re not traditional, with such food names as “My Corn Addiction” and “McDaddy Big Mac Tacos.” She said they also use local vendors, which makes them different.
“I always wanted to do a food truck. When Ian happened, we drove around and gave free food in Naples, Marco Island and here – to workers, residents and firefighters. By 2022, we were able to start actually earning an income from the food truck. I am really excited about Slipaway.”
GreekSpot is another food truck destination.
“We are ready for this Food Truck Park. Our brick-and-mortar restaurant over at Big John’s Plaza has a long history of family recipes and we will keep that going here. We make fresh tzatziki and hummus every single day,” GreekSpot owner Tina Chalkias said.
Slipaway, Aubuchon said, takes away the conversation of deciding where to eat when friends and family are visiting because there is something for everyone.
The marina also adds a splash of vibrancy with a “fantastic promenade that goes along the shoreline in front of the all the docks for seating,” Aubuchon said. “You will see people sitting down by the water watching boats come and go. It’s really a vibrant waterfront.”
There are dock hands to help everyone come in safely and securely.
“We just had a short boat trip today to get here. No time to even see any dolphins. It’s beautiful,” Teresa Gunter, Mayor John Gunters wife, said.
Aubuchon said there were people fueling up their boat Saturday morning before the park even opened, which was great to see.
The waterfront connectivity was a very important element of the project, as well as waterfront views from the pavilions and seating areas.
The central pavilion, dubbed “the helm” has a large bar and seating for 150 people.
The store is another beautiful space at the park, Aubuchon said, as it has everything a boater would need for a day on the water, as well as logo merchandise.
“People were really enjoying walking through the space. It’s again more views of the water – lots of sunlight and vistas. There is seating outside the slip store that was being used as well,” he said.
Aubuchon said it was amazing to see the culmination of what has been a five-year journey, open and be so well received.
“The one aspect that was even better than I thought, was the quality of the food from the 10 food trucks. The most difficult decision anyone is going to have when they come to Slipaway is what to eat. The options are almost limitless,” he said.
The park is open seven days a week, with the marina opening at 8 a.m., the bar opening at 10 a.m. and the food trucks opening at 11 a.m. The park closes at 10 p.m.
Aubuchon encourages everyone to try the park for themselves, as they will become a huge fan.
“The first few weeks we are going to learn how people interact with Slipaway,” he said.
There is an assumption that some boaters will come for the day, while others may stop for a bite to eat before going out for the day. Others who come by car may come for a bite to eat and leave, while others may enjoy the live entertainment that will be offered seven days a week.
“We fully expect some people to make a day of it, and some are going to come for an hour or two,” Aubuchon said.
The owners have already taken some steps to alleviate parking. He said they have leased an offsite parking area for all staff, so all parking remains available for customers.
“We try to keep our entire parking lot available to customers. If we get to a point that we cannot accommodate all of our customers, we have contingency plans to have some additional parking – whether a shuttle service, or water taxi. We are going to evaluate that as time goes on,” Aubuchon said.