Commercial Truck Insurance in Cocoa Beach, FL

4th Street Fillin Station approaching 5th birthday

When Daniel Todd, Sarah Gottesfeld and their business partners leased the old gas station at North Fourth Street and North Orlando Avenue in Cocoa Beach in 2018, their plan was to have a gas station with a beer bar and really good sandwiches.

As 4th Street Fillin Station approaches its fifth birthday, the restaurant and bar has turned into so much more. It’s the neighborhood backyard, a hangout for locals and tourists alike. So much so, the gastropub has outgrown its kitchen.

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“We didn’t think it was going to be this busy,” Gottesfeld said to News 6 partners Florida Today. “The kitchen was for low volume.”

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Work began Oct. 2 on an expansion that will grow the 11-by-13 kitchen to one that’s 40-by-40. Todd hopes to finish by Jan. 21, in time to celebrate that birthday.

Meanwhile, despite the construction, the 4th Street closed for only two weeks, having reopened after temporary measures were put in place to continue serving. The construction noise fades once in the inside dining area and out back, where guests will find a shady retreat and menu that hints of bigger things to come.

For now, food is prepared in three food trucks, each bigger and easier to work in than the original 4th Street kitchen.

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There’s the 4th Street food truck, where much of the restaurant’s original menu — including tacos, bowls and street corn — is prepared.

An Asian street food truck produces the inventive and delicious crab rangoon nachos, chef and kitchen manager Will Byers’ take on the traditional crab rangoon. The Asian-inspired menu also includes a selection of meat, seafood and veggie skewers and a fried Korean-style hot chicken sandwich.

Breakfast dishes also are prepared in the Asian street food truck.

All things smokehouse come from the third truck, including tender ribs blanketed in the aroma of cherry wood, bourbon baked beans and smoked fish dip.

Byers is using the three mobile kitchens to experiment. His current favorite is a smash burger that’s gaining traction with customers. The new work space will offer an opportunity for more new dishes.

“I’m looking forward to it so much,” Byers said, who has been at 4th Street for three years. “We’ll be able to do some cool stuff out of it.”

To understand how far 4th Street has come, it helps to look back at its beginning.

Todd, Gottesfeld and their partners leased the gas station and garage in April 2018. It was a working station, but they saw potential in the spacious, junk-filled backyard with a towering oak tree.

In May 2018, they started selling gas and renovations to turn the building into a restaurant began. The garage bays became an open-air dining room and bar with light fixtures made from tools and tables fashioned from what once were car lifts. They turned the backyard into a shady oasis with seating under that gorgeous oak and Giant Jenga to entertain young guests.

“It’s pretty kid-friendly,” Gootesfeld said. “We have kids.”

The only parts of the business under air conditioning were the kitchen, the small convenience store and the renovated restrooms.

When the restaurant opened in January 2019, food was prepared in a tiny kitchen and on a Big Green Egg charcoal grill out back. The bar served local beers, boutique wines and craft cocktails.

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In December 2019, the partners bought the property and in January 2020, the gas pumps were removed. 4th Street became all about filling bellies, not gas tanks.

Then came the pandemic.

Todd credits a dessert bar, which was set up in the former convenience store, with getting the restaurant through the pandemic. People from the neighborhood loved walking to the restaurant and ordering decadent ice cream concoctions to-go, including boozy, adults-only shakes.

“COVID also pushed us into the food truck,” Todd said. Not knowing what the future held for sit-down restaurants, they bought the truck and rebuilt it.

4th Street’s open-air model turned out to be a major asset as restaurants began reopening during the pandemic. People felt more comfortable eating in a place cooled by ocean breezes rather than recycled air.

“We had groups coming from all over the county,” Todd said. “One family drove up from Miami.”

The new kitchen will allow the restaurant to offer true dinner entrees. It also means food will come out quicker. For the staff, it will provide better working conditions.

Once that work is finished, Todd said, plans are in the works to repair the colorful canopy tha once covered the gas pumps. It was ripped off last year during Hurricane Nicole.

The kitchen is Phase 1 of expansion, Gottesfeld said.

“We can’t add more seats until we can make more food,” she said.

Phase 2 will increase seating from 202 to more than 300, Todd said, with additional seating under the canopy and a deck over the front of the dining area for private parties.

“In a perfect world, we’ll do Phase 2 this time next year,” he said.

The place has come a long way since it opened as a gas station and beer bar with great sandwiches.

How do Todd and Gottesfeld explain its success?

“I think it’s the space,” Todd said. That oak tree and the backyard really do make it feel as comfortable and welcoming as a neighborhood block party.

There’s also plenty of room for large parties.

And then there’s the food. While it’s not a completely scratch kitchen, most of the sauces are made from scratch, Gottesfeld said. Plus the menu includes several vegan and vegetarian options, which makes it a great place for large groups with diverse tastes.

“The tourists really like 4th Street a lot,” she said. “But we have a huge following of locals. People watched it being built.”

Copyright 2023 Florida Today

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Suzy Fleming Leonard

Folks in Cocoa Beach have known for 10 years how awesome The Tiny Turtle is. Now Yelp, the popular crowd-sourced review website, has named the cozy cafe with an island vibe to its 11th annual list of the Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S.

"Yelp’s annual Top 100 Places to Eat list covers a wide range of places to eat – from white tablecloth to food trucks and hot dog carts," according to top100.yelp.com. "It’s more accessible than a list of all fine dining establishments and really reflects the uniqueness of the Yelp community."

The Tiny Turtle, which recently celebrated it's 10th anniversary, was among 13 Florida restaurants on the list, landing at No. 84. Yelp took community nominations for it's Top 100 list in October.

"Reviewers praise The Tiny Turtle for its exceptional service, friendly and casual vibe and unique breakfast offerings," according to Yelp.

Owners Moises Correa and his wife Kelly Lieneke were excited to hear their restaurant had made the list.

"Celebrating 10 years of business this past November and now this has us feeling very grateful for all of our fans," Lieneke said. "We started out very small and have grown to be one of the best in Cocoa Beach. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Latin tastes are among the culinary trends showing up in this year's list, which lines up with the Puerto Rico-inspired flavors created by chef Correa.

"We love that they highlighted our Bacon Mac Daddy Cakes as this dish has a unique sweet and savory flavor," Lieneke said. "Our queso is made fresh from scratch with lots of love and detail. Truly one-of-a-kind and a must-try."

The Tiny Turtle's beginnings were, indeed, tiny. Correa rented a kitchen behind a skate shop off Minutemen Causeway in Cocoa Beach in 2013 and served fresh, flavorful meals with Caribbean flair through a to-go window. He and Lieneke describe the original restaurant as a stationary truck.

When the skate shop closed six months later, The Tiny Turtle took over and opened a dining room. The couple bought the building in 2019, and two years ago expanded into the former art gallery next door to add a full liquor bar.

These days, the restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner from a menu that includes sofrito bowls, empanadas, sandwiches, tacos and wraps.

The Tiny Turtle is at 249 Minutemen Causeway, Cocoa Beach. Call 321-446-7361, visit thetinyturtle.com or follow facebook.com/TheTinyTurtle.

Suzy Fleming Leonard is a features journalist with more than three decades of experience. Reach her at sleonard@floridatoday.com. Find her on Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard or on Instagram: @SuzyLeonard.

COCOA BEACH, Fla. – Ten years ago, Moises Correa dreamed of owning his own food truck or restaurant.

He’d honed his skills in some of the area’s most highly regarded kitchens: Silvestro’s, a Cocoa Beach favorite in the early 2000s; Tuscany Grill, then in Suntree, now in Viera; and d.i.g. bistro, the former farm-to-table restaurant opened by Tuscany’s Gina Pierce.

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Alas, as he did his research, he decided a food truck would be too expensive.

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“I could get a food truck for 30 grand,” he said. “That was too much.”

Instead, he rented a kitchen behind a skate shop off Minutemen Causeway in Cocoa Beach, and on Nov. 13, 2013, he started serving fresh, flavorful meals with Caribbean flair through a to-go window.

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He called his new place the Tiny Turtle.

The menu was as tiny as the restaurant: a wrap, a sofrito bowl, a hot dog and a burger. Guests who didn’t want to take their meals home could sit at a couple of picnic tables in a common area near the takeout window.

“I started the Tiny Turtle with $10 grand, and I borrowed $5,000 of that,” he said. “Actually, it was $9,500. I gave the last $500 to Sysco (for food and supplies). I said, if you don’t see me again I didn’t make it.”

Not only did the Tiny Turtle make it, it thrived, growing in the past 10 years from what Correa and wife Kelly Lieneke called a stationary food truck into a full-service restaurant and bar with expansive seating inside and out and a menu that covers breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“You know how I knew I was going to make it?” Correa said. “Somebody else believed in me before I did.”

When he left d.i.g. bistro, he asked Pierce if she’d take him back in six months if his business failed. But Pierce had faith in Correa’s talent and drive.

“She said, ‘Moises, I’m not going to see you again.’”

Lieneke was prepared to support her husband through the start-up process working in massage therapy. At least that was the plan.

“I gave my notice, and Kelly said, ‘I don’t mean to scare you, but we’re going to have a kid,’” Correa said.

The Tiny Turtle opened a week before the 50th annual Space Coast Art Festival in downtown Cocoa Beach. It was a make-or-break weekend. The restaurant was a hit.

“Sometimes you just have to throw yourself out there and see what happens,” Correa said.

When Lieneke took maternity leave, she started helping out at the Tiny Turtle and got absorbed into the business.

“I was nervous serving,” she said. “I didn’t know what I was doing.”

It didn’t take her long to love it, so she stayed.

Their son, Kaleb, 9, has grown up in the restaurant, first strapped to his mother’s chest while she helped customers, then in a playpen behind the counter.

“It was a true mom and pop,” Lieneke said.

As Kaleb has grown, so has the Tiny Turtle.

Within six months of opening, the skate shop at the front of the building closed, and the couple expanded into a counter-service restaurant with a compact dining room.

In 2019, Correa and Lieneke were offered the opportunity to buy the building which, at the time, included The Fat Donkey Ice Cream and Rick Piper’s Art Gallery.

The couple had been saving to move the Tiny Turtle to a larger location, and once again decided to take a chance and put that money into a down payment rather than deposits and more rent.

Ed Martinez, owner of The Fat Donkey, bought his portion of the building. Correa and Lieneke were left with a property that included their restaurant, two other retail spaces and three small apartments. They moved into one of the apartments.

Then COVID struck.

They laid off their staff and started serving to-go meals from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“We made this our living room,” Correa said, looking around the busy dining room.

“We were living upstairs and just had to pay our mortgage,” Lieneke said.

After four months, they were able to bring staff back.

“We made it through,” Correa said.

Piper’s art gallery had closed, and business was picking up. In 2021, they took down the wall between the two units, got a full liquor license and turned that space into a bar.

Next came a mangrove-shaded patio out front and an expansive tiki hut in the back.

Through all the transformations, Lieneke and Correa have kept the flavor of the past in their restaurant. Piper’s artwork hangs on the walls. Wayne Coombs Mai Tiki Gallery, which closed in 2012, once occupied the space. Now a large tiki carving created by Keelee Coombs, Wayne Coombs’ nephew hangs from the ceiling of the hut. Local musicians perform there regularly.

The restaurant also pays homage to its proximity to the ocean.

The Surfrider Foundation has named the Tiny Turtle an “Ocean Friendly Restaurant” because of its environmentally sustainable practices.

While Correa’s passion is food, Lieneke said hers is the environment. The restaurant uses paper straws, which are given out only upon request. To-go packaging is made of paper rather than polystyrene. Wooden, rather than plastic, to-go utensils, again, are given only if a customer asks for them.

“I want to inspire and encourage others to do it,” Lieneke said of making more environmentally friendly choices with products in the restaurant.

Lieneke originally is from Southern California. Correa was born in Puerto Rico, but grew up in Orlando. Now they’re happy to call Cocoa Beach home. Correa’s dream has become Lieneke’s dream, too.

As they prepare to celebrate the Tiny Turtle’s 10th anniversary in November, Correa and Lieneke don’t take their success for granted, but they feel like they’ve got some breathing room now.

The not-so-tiny Tiny Turtle now seats 150 guests and has 20 to 30 employees. The menu now includes empanadas, sandwiches, tacos and wraps.

The final unit on the property has been rented to Junk Food Bakery. The family still lives in one of the on-site apartments. (“When we say we’re always here, we’re always here,” Lieneke said.)

Correa is working on a new project with a group of other Cocoa Beach restaurateurs.

But they promise not to neglect the Tiny Turtle. A proper celebration and ribbon cutting are planned for the 10th anniversary.

They’re proud of the prominence it’s earned in the community. Even after the bar was added two years ago, it’s remained a family-friendly place.

“One thing I hear from parents is this is their kids’ favorite restaurant,” Correa said. “They know when you’re eating here, their kids are going to go get ice cream.”

If not ice cream from the Fat Donkey, then a house-made pop tart or cake pop from Junk Food.

“We’re surrounded by desserts here,” Lieneke said.

It’s a sweet arrangement, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Tiny Turtle is at 249 Minutemen Causeway, Cocoa Beach. Call 321-446-7361, visit thetinyturtle.com or follow facebook.com/TheTinyTurtle.

Check out the Florida Foodie podcast. You can find every episode in the media player below:

Copyright 2023 Florida Today

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Days before the June 18 holiday, parts of the Space Coast saw wild weather. Rain, then sun, then rain, then sun.

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