Things Are Smokin’ at West

By Ronni Newton

It’s been a long journey, met with many obstacles – big ones, like the need to have the town enact an ordinance and also a pandemic that no one could have possibly foreseen – but GastroPark is not only surviving but is thriving and succeeding beyond owner Tate Norden’s expectations, with the West Hartford food truck park that he first envisioned in 2016 now open seven days a week for the public to “gather and graze” as the tagline says.

Roughly two-and-a-half years after opening in October 2020, West Hartford’s “experiential dining concept” now has several new resident food trucks, an ice cream stand, a bakery, and a new coffee vendor linked to a partnership with a local brewery, a permanent bar and kitchen, and plenty of seating outdoors (covered and uncovered) and indoors.

On May 1, GastroPark expanded their hours to be open seven days per week for lunch and dinner. Coffee – which is now available from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, plans to expand to Monday and Tuesday as well sometime in June, Norden said.

Alvarium took over the GastroPark coffee shop operation in April, replacing Perkatory – which moved to their own space just down the road.

“We are really excited about the collaboration,” said Kayla Brown, who came to West Hartford from Alvarium Roasting Company’s New Britain headquarters as lead barista and manager. The coffee specials are like cocktails, she said, showing off some of their state-of-the art machinery.

Norden is excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Alvarium on the beer side, too, where several of the beers are offered on draft as well as in cans.

There’s an existing synergy with Small State Provisions, GastroPark’s resident bakery, as well, said Norden. Small State has already been a provider of baked goods to Alvarium’s mothership location in New Britain, and will continue to meet the sweet and savory appetites with artisan baked goods from Wednesday through Sunday.

In mid April, Hindsight BBQ became a resident food truck at GastroPark, and from Wednesday through Friday visitors can find a variety of delicious and innovative smoked items.

“We’re really excited,” Hindsight BBQ owner Jeff Schmidt said. Hindsight has a brick and mortar restaurant in Waterbury that they opened in 2020, mid pandemic, and multiple other food trucks – one of which will stay parked at GastroPark for most of the week, alongside their smoker.

“We’re ‘new school barbecue,'” Schmidt said, with a “new American twist” of different flavorings from a variety cuisines to spice up the classics.

“Hindsight is 2020,” Schmidt said, blending the traditions of the past but adding something new and unique.

Virtually everything starts off on the wood-fired smoker – a menu that includes brown butter burnt ends, wings, a brisket Philly empanada, and smokey cauliflower florets. There are also more classic meats (brisket, pork, turkey), burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, pork belly tacos, and sides like cornbread, mac and cheese, and sidewinder fries.

“Everything is made by hand,” Schmidt said, including the sauces. And with the smoker on site at GastroPark, “You’re going to smell it before you see it,” he said.

Hindsight BBQ is joining another resident food truck, Lobster Tales, which has already committed to a presence at GastroPark five