Bernie’s Backyard held its grand opening July 25, featuring six distinctive food trucks, a shaved ice stand and live music.


Owner Don Sanberg said the vision for the park is to evolve into a mix between a renaissance fair and trader’s village that provides a diverse set of entertainment options to Northwest Houston in the next two years.


Within a year, Sanberg expects to open a sweet shop for children, which will offer rides, sweets, ice cream and a 300-seat banquet hall to host private events. He hopes to add a monthly farmers market the following year as well as festivals and car shows.


“The idea started with putting a couple of food trucks out there, and then the idea kept growing,” Sanberg said.


The owner said Bernie’s Backyard is already expanding because of higher-than-expected demand. The company is expanding its bar and adding additional restrooms.


Being open in the summer, we didn’t expect a lot of people to come out,” Sanberg said. “There have been a few times trucks have run out of food. There’s been a few bugs we’re trying to work out before the fall when we’re expecting 30 to 40 percent more people.”


The diverse collection of food options makes Bernie’s Backyard distinctive, said Mary Spessato, owner of Rustica, a food truck parked at Bernie’s Backyard. While Rustica serves authentic Italian cuisine, the park also features gourmet hamburgers from Black Garlic and varied barbecue dishes from BBQ Godfather.


The Naked Fry, Luv Me Tenders and Paradise Gogi are also parked alongside Buzzles Shaved Ice at Bernie’s Backyard.


“It’s nice because it’s a family-friendly environment where everybody has a lot of choices,” Spessato said. “Sometimes families can’t decide: ‘I want Italian. I want Mexican.’ Here you can make a lot of people happy because it offers a lot of variety.”