Shipping Container Pop Up Shops: Embracing a Growing Trend
Boxi Park Party Venue in Orlando – Containerised Fun!
Here at Gateway Gazette we see all sorts of ways shipping containers have had second lives away from multi-modal travel around the world. Now a multi-outlet party venue called Boxi Park in Orlando is breaking the mould of containerised fun.
Booze, food, fun? You kidding me?!
Unless you’re a religiously dieting health freak, booze and food usually mean a lot of fun! Boxi Park in one of the world’s centres of family fun, Orlando in Florida, has arrived, allowing parents to let their hair down after the kids have gone wild in the different amusement parks locally.
A local media outlet enthused, “It’s a patchwork of counter-service concepts – lobster rolls, fried chicken, burgers, tacos, health food and ice cream – situated in a manner that promotes a free flow of humans from one metal-framed kiosk of commerce to the next, like a mini theme park.”
Yup, that’s right – a theme park centred on booze and food – do you even need to go to the Epcot Centre or Sea World?!
Add to the ingredients that make you happy inside, there’s also a live music venue, beach volleyball courts and a playground so the kids don’t keep telling you they’re bored.
Is it no wonder Boxi Park got in the USA Today Top 10 Orlando’s new eateries? The website explains its reasoning: “Boxi Park Lake Nona is a unique venue, where indie food purveyors ply their wares from shipping containers that now serve as mobile (well, fixed mobile, anyway) outdoor kitchens. Think food truck park, except the trucks are static.”
Part of a bigger project
The food chain Tavistock Restaurant Collection is behind the park. This is a restaurant chain that specialises in high end eateries such as Atlas, in Atlanta, Georgia where you can enjoy fine dining and a fusion of US / European cuisine.
That said, its outlets in Florida are a little less refined. The Park Pizza & Brewing co brews much of the beer served at Boxi Park, though you can work your way around the same brews over a pizza as part of your family food and booze experience in the nearby ‘food theme park’.
Why shipping containers?
Shipping containers have a number of facets that make them great for venues such as Boxi Park:
- They are pre-made weatherproof boxes that make them easily converted into kitchen / bar style uses.
- Once converted off-site in a factory environment they can be dropped on site quickly and thereby brought into economic operation more quickly than equivalent new-build bricks and mortar units
- Often on land banked land with plans for a major development down the line, these can be picked up and moved on to another site after a short tenure.
The system also allows for different businesses to try out their concepts on the public without investing megabucks on a dedicated restaurant venue with its rents, insurance etc. This is good for the venue owners and entrepreneurs alike.
Triggered some thoughts?
Here at the Gateway Gazette we have looked at party venues like this before, though few as well received as Boxi Park. Could this be something we could help you with? We have an almost endless supply of shipping containers that can be reused in this way. Give us a shout to discuss your needs today!
Related Topics
