WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — What feels more like summer than hanging out in a backyard with friends, listening to music and enjoying the few months Ohio gets of nice weather? What if all of those summer staples were found at a bar? Now, what if you added food trucks to the mix? Well, that's what you get at The Yard on 3rd.
Anna Dey is one of the owners of the new food truck park in the heart of Downtown Willoughby.
“The Yard on 3rd is what we hope to be the premier outdoor venue on the east side of Cleveland," Dey said. "We are a food truck yard. We bring in rotating trucks where every time you come to the yard, we hope you're trying different cuisine. We're bringing in the best food trucks in the region."
The new concept will feature two food trucks in for lunch and two new trucks in for dinner. On Thursday, the grand opening of The Yard on 3rd, lunch at the food truck park came courtesy of CLE Chicken Food Truck and Wild Spork, a vegan food truck, showing off the eclectic range of food they'll be offering.
Guests at The Yard on 3rd will have plenty of options of how they'd like to relax in the "yard," from custom truck-bed booths to rows of community-style picnic tables, to a wrap around bar set-up—and even an indoor spot to play games and get some Instagram worthy selfies.
But the food truck concept isn't Dey's first venture as an entrepreneur. From an early age, she's known business was her calling.
"It's really funny I have a I have this sheet of paper from when I was nine years old and it was my first ever business plan. And it was for a tea house because I had read about one in the newspaper, so we laugh about it now. My husband had it framed for me," Dey said. "I always wanted to make money as a kid, I did dog walking business, lemonade stand businesses, my tea party idea business. So, it's funny to trace that back. It seems to be something that's always been with me and cool to see it, I guess come to fruition now."
Dey's go-getter nature brought her and business partner Jason together, and after he pitched the idea of a food truck park, Willoughby became the obvious spot for it.
"We looked at a couple of other venues, always in the Willoughby area. And then we identified this spot," Dey said. "Downtown Willoughby is just so incredible. I mean in our area. It is such a vibrant, beautiful area. It's so walkable. What I love about it is how many locally owned small businesses there are you know, the retail sector bars, restaurants, hair salons, Willoughby is so, so cool."
After picking a location, it was time to plan the aesthetic. Planning for a backyard feel was something not many people could envision, but Dey and her team brought it to life.
"Other people couldn't see the vision of putting the "grass" down and really transforming it into a backyard. It all kind of like started coming to light," Dey said.
All the way down to a perfectly manicured turf lawn to hang out on.
"It's spongy and soft. So it makes it makes you want to take off your shoes, which I think we allow," Dey laughed. "It is so comfortable. You're just going to love it and walking around. It's as good as your backyard."
With a full bar, a mini beer and wine bar, giant lawn games, and lots of space to hang out with friends and even make new ones, The Yard on 3rd might have more to offer than your backyard—making it a summer destination.
Mindy Hayes was one of the first diners to experience a day at the new food truck park
“It was amazing, I think this is a great idea," Hayes said. "This is wonderful for Willoughby. This is a place where everybody can gather and have fun and just be a part of the community. All these food trucks can come out and serve you and you can have a good time just eating and congregating and drinking—indoors and outdoors."
The food truck park welcomes adults, children and even four-legged companions, as long as they're leashed. It's truly as open as a friend's backyard.
For Dey, she hopes that homey feel is something her guests takeaway—that and simply having a good time.
"Maybe there's growth in this concept or maybe this just becomes the most awesome food truck Park in Downtown Willoughby and that's it. Who knows. But we want this to be a lot of fun," Dey said. "If you come here, you're going to have a full experience. It's not just going, sitting down in a restaurant, getting a drink and then leaving and getting your meal. It's an experience.
'Sit outside, you're in your own backyard, have fun," Dey said. "I mean, I am biased, but I can't imagine a more fun venue for a weekend outing with your friends."
The Yard on 3rd will post their food truck lineups on their social media pages to let guests know what cuisine they can expect for the lunch and dinner lineups. Live music will also be featured at the new spot, with artists announced online as well. Click here to visit The Yard on 3rd's Facebook page.
The Yard on 3rd is located at 38040 3rd St. in Downtown Willoughby.
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
