“Downtown is a park.”
So says “Big Idea 2,” in the city’s Downtown Orlando Action Plan Summary, a section touting plans for a “dense network of active, memorable civic spaces that align the best downtown experiences…”
And as odds of success in “best experiences” go up exponentially when craft beer, noodles and cookies are involved, the grand opening of Art² (Art Squared) will have some tasty secret weapons in its pocket.
The long-planned “urban pocket park,” on the city’s to-do list in concept since 2017, has its mayor-sanctioned ribbon cutting on Friday (Oct. 10) and is open to the public on Saturday. Amid the arts and events and other activities that will set the tone for continued community building at the corner of Orange Avenue and Robinson Street, À La Cart City will be overseeing its food and beverage programming.
It’s a partnership that David Barilla, executive director of the Downtown Development Board and Community Development Agency, calls harmonious.
In particular since plans for the city’s first privatized public park have evolved considerably in the years since its conception.
“We didn’t know what it would be back then … or the best use to make Art² an immersive, creative and destination-like experience,” says Barilla.
Downtown Orlando has changed a lot since 2017.
Installations continue as the team from Art² and À La Cart City gather at the outdoor venue on Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando. It will open to the public on Saturday. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
“And one of the biggest changes, specifically for that site, is that we now have an over 300-unit apartment complex right across the street,” Barilla points out.
“We had to ask ourselves if [our original plan] was still the right vision for this corner, which led to all the things it is now, with À La Cart and the rotating vendors, and a lot of exciting things we think are really well suited for the direction that downtown is going.”
One guarantee, says chef Eliot Hillis, is that a permanent parking spot will bring an end to Red Panda Noodle‘s most prevalent complaint: “I can’t find you guys.”
Eliot Hillis and Seth Parker of Red Panda Noodle high-five at the new Art²/À La Cart City outdoor venue on Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando, which features a mural by South Florida artist Sitki Dogan. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
The popular food truck, a multiple Orlando Sentinel Foodie Award-winner and the most recent champions of the city’s annual Ramen Rumble, will call Art² home for the next couple of years.
It’s something Hillis and his partner, Seth Parker, have long desired.
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“But, looking at brick-and-mortar downtown is a massive undertaking. The rent would be crazy,” he says. “Here, we have the backing of the city … a major leg-up. It’s a great location and just a really cool thing to have come together.”
Fans of À La Cart — and its craft-beer driven food truck parks — will enjoy the same bevs and vibes, says co-owner April Williams, who, along with her husband, Dustin Williams, opened ALC’s first location in Orlando’s Milk District in 2018. A second, in SoDo, followed in 2024.
But, says Williams, this city-owned space, green and expansive with towering, technicolor works — like the 3D “Urban Mirage 1” mural by South Florida artist Sitki Dogan — and a two-story container structure, is different.
Dustin and April Williams, of À La Cart, at the new Art²/À La Cart City outdoor venue on Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
“One of the things we’re most excited to explore here is the art component,” she says.
The blank walls beg to be dressed.
“We’ll have local artists submit their ideas for what they’d like to put here, and their fees to paint it, so that we’ll be continually raising money. That, and a portion of our sales, will go toward the continual repainting of the space every six months or so,” says Williams. “It will become a revolving art space that pays local artists and celebrates their work.”
Outside, a prominent, 10×20 LED screen will complement the murals, featuring loops of static and animated art pieces that will rotate on the reg.
Plans for Art², described as an “urban pocket park,” have been in the works since 2017. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
“Digital art has come so far, especially in recent years,” Barilla observes, noting the project’s evolution and the city’s interest in bringing the vision up to date as it came to fruition. Multiple calls to artists have yielded an abundance of interest. Those selected received stipends and will be part of Art²’s first wave.
“[The screen] will keep people active in watching,” he says, “providing something unique for those enjoying food or drink on site or even just those who happen to be passing by as they walk down the street.”
Williams says the hope is to have Art² stay in line with the city’s vision, “to make this a true art space for the community, and having the À La Cart aspect here will meld it all together.”
Hillis says with hours that could span between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week, Red Panda Noodle is not only planning to add some lighter lunchtime dishes to the lineup, but even bring back breakfast favorites from their Orlando Meats days.
“Stuff like the Egg Meat Muffin and little buns for breakfast and some sweet things. Maybe doughnuts.”
As the day moves onward, however, city favorite Phat Ash Bakes, hot off the opening of their flagship location in the Milk District, will take over dessert duties, slinging a smaller version of their top-selling cookies from an express counter at the bar.
It’s a dream for co-owners Ashley D’Acunto and her husband, Israel Erazo, longtime fans of the À La Cart concept. They’re excited to enter a new market and neighborhood.
“We have a great following and loyal customers who come to our shop, but this is totally different,” says D’Acunto.
“We’ve never been in an area with foot traffic,” adds Erazo. And with a solid set of regular hours, he notes, opportunities abound.
Phat Ash will sell “perfect, two-bite cookies” in singles, as well as 4-, 6-, and 8-packs, starting at $3.50 per cookie. The more you get, the lower the price. Easy service will allow guests to order platters for meetings or events ahead of time, or just by stopping in on the fly.
A third purveyor, run in partnership with The Culinary Collective, will feature a truck that’s permanent, but will also allow different concepts to move through the space.
Andres Maldonado Fuentes of Culinary Collective at the new Art²/À La Cart City venue. He’ll be aiding in the operation of The Culinary Collective, a trailer that will see food truck concepts rotating through every three months. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
Chef/owner Andres Maldonado Fuertes, who heads up this incubator of sorts, is no stranger to the mobile food game.
His À La Cart SoDo concepts — Nona Street Pizza, Nona Street Bistro and Brick & Butter — along with 80/20’s simple, scratch-made burgers at the Great Southern Box Company, have taught him lessons in small business for years.
“I know how hard it is for these types of concepts to get the word out, so the idea behind The Culinary Collective is to help them … to give them a three-month head start via this collaboration between myself, À La Cart City and the City of Orlando.”
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Three-month stints will allow guests to enjoy a menu that varies alongside stalwarts like Red Panda and Phat Ash, while new businesses test their concepts with minimal investment. The space, the point-of-sale system, the tools they need are all in place.
80/20’s burgers will be the first up, but come January, it’ll be something all new.
“The idea is to be community-focused,” says Maldonado Fuertes. “We believe in collaboration over competition to empower local chefs and creators so we can all rise together.”
Togetherness, says Barilla, is part of the concept, too, of the vision residents asked for.
“What we heard from the community was that they wanted ‘an awesome outdoor city,’ to have places to embrace the environment. Not just in our parks, but in places where you could sit and eat and be outside and have a connection with friends and family. A little more ‘dwell time,’ so to speak.”
He says where the food and drink piece was concerned, À La Cart seemed a natural fit.
“We couldn’t think of a better partner that had the experience and the ability to [help us accomplish this]…. operators who are really contributing to our city, and we’ve leaned a lot on their expertise to set the park up for success.”
D’Acunto, too, is confident.
“There’s so much love and passion that has gone into it from everyone who’s involved,” she observes. “I just can’t imagine it not working.”
Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
Pocket Park Parking
Concerned about where to park? The Park DTO program affords visitors to downtown two hours of free parking at any metered and non-metered parking spot in downtown by using the ParkMoble app code: ParkDTO. Promotion codes are valid 24/7 and can be used a maximum of 12 times per account. The program ends when the maximum has been reached or on Dec. 31, 2025, whichever comes first.
Additionally, the city’s Ride DTO program acts like a free Uber service, running every day from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.
“You get three free rides that will take you anywhere within the downtown area, and after that, it’s $1 a ride,” says Barilla.
Users must request rides through the Ride Circuit app.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/10/09/art-squared-a-la-cart-city-new-downtown-park/
