Kai Asian Street Fare, Brock’s Florida BBQ begin serving this week in Oviedo
Oviedo’s growing foodie cred takes two giant leaps forward this week as Kai Asian Street Fare‘s long-stalked spot at The Food Factory will start serving on Friday, Feb. 2. Brock’s Florida BBQ, the popular local food truck, has signed on to have a permanent spot there as well, with owner Jason Brock’s pulled pork, mojo pork steak and more enjoying service through The Factory Bar.
“It’s been a long time coming,” says Kai chef/owner Quan Van, whose plans were delayed first by COVID-19, then post-pandemic issues including shortages in construction materials and labor.
“But things began picking up toward the end of 2023 and now, finally, here we are.”
Fans can expect all the Kai favorites, including the multiple Orlando Sentinel Foodie Award-winning wings (soy garlic, spicy tang, Vietnamese garlic, habanero and dry rub) along with garlic noodles, drunken noodles, ramen and some small bites.
“We’re going to start with the core menu we’ve had at Winter Park and will expand the offerings as we get comfortable,” says Van.
At the helm will be Chef Gama Santiago, who’s been working at Kai’s Winter Park location for the past year. Van plans to bounce between locations, and looks forward to serving two communities moving forward, joining tenant neighbors Buttercrust Pizza, The 1 Cantina and The Local Hen as the fourth micro-restaurant to open.
“It’s about 15 seats inside, but there’s a lot of nice seating on the patio and in the bar,” says Van.
The Food Factory will also be the new home for popular food truck Brock’s Florida BBQ, which starts serving on Thursday, Feb. 1.
“It’s been pretty quick,” said owner Jason Brock of the process. “We’re still figuring out the logistics, but I’m excited. Oviedo was one of our first pop-up locations ever and we’ve always enjoyed serving this community.”
With a permanent place, Brock says the menu will likely expand.
“I’ll have time to bring back some favorites from the past and try out some new specials. Maybe we’ll do ribs in the future,” he says.
Guests will order through The Factory Bar and the team will run orders to the tables.
They’ll be operating Wednesday through Sunday. Guests can look forward to the pulled pork, mojo pork steak and jackfruit every day. They’ll also have chicken moving forward. Beef days will alternate, with cheeks on Wednesday and Thursday, and and brisket Friday through Sunday. Hours are tentative, but for now will be 4-10 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; noon-10 p.m. Saturday and noon-9 p.m. Sunday.
Kai’s Van says he can’t wait to try it, and looks forward to what Oviedo has in store.
“I’m super excited,” he says. “The location is really nice and they have a lot of events going on at [Center Lake Park]. It’s really nice for families. We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time and we hope the people will come out and support us.”
The Food Factory is located on City Walk Lane in Oviedo, 407-604-4000; ffoviedo.com,