DeLeon Catering. Photo by Kathy Tran.
The owners of DeLeon Provisions are shutting down the catering company and starting a new concept, a food park.
Kam and Teri De Leon, who started DeLeon Provisions in 2019, are hoping to open The Shindig in mid-July.
The Shindig will be a family-friendly food park with food trucks, a bar, seating, space for live music performers and play equipment for kids, including a gaga ball pit and swings. Locura Small Bites, which serves elote and other items, will be a permanent vendor at the site, and food trucks will rotate.
The food park is located at DeLeon Provisions’ commercial kitchen, the old Keller’s Drive-In on Samuell Boulevard, an area Kam said is undergoing a revitalization.
West of the site, restaurants including Mixtitos and Mami Coco and businesses like LaBori Boxing are revamping the Samuell-Grand intersection. Improvements and investments are being made to the nearby green spaces, with plans to build mountain-bike trails at Creekside Park.
“We have vision for not only what our business can become but for Samuell Boulevard itself, too,” Kam said.
Teri, the chef for DeLeon Provisions, came up with the name for the new concept.
“I mean, it’s kind of an old-school term, but you gotta have something that’s fun to call it,” Teri said.
The De Leons’ property is half an acre, and they wanted to allow other small businesses to thrive, while they provide an audience. They also wanted to have a place where parents can bring younger kids, who will have plenty of room to run around and play. And they can do it safely, because The Shindig will have high-schoolers on staff who will help watch the kids and engage with them.
Though the De Leons won’t be cooking anymore, Kam said many of the relationships built through the catering company — with families, nonprofits, PTAs and schools, for example — will continue at The Shindig.
“We’re excited to let somebody else cook and us host,” Kam said. “Because that’s the thing about us: We love to host.”
Kam said that they eventually want to have activities such as bubbles or face painting for kids during the weekends. They’ll charge a small fee for the activities and donate the proceeds to nonprofits.
“Even the Red Hot Chili Peppers are addicted to the shindig,” Teri said.
