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.
The beginning of a dream
“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.
Growing the business ... and the family
“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.
Making it through COVID
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.
Looking to the future
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.
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