A Cuban Sandwich Truck Is Bringing Little Havana Vibes to Austin

Cuban sandwich pop-up Oye Chico is turning into a food trailer this month. The new trailer will be parked at Clarksville-adjacent restaurant Better Half at 406 Walsh Street and is open as of Wednesday, August 10.

The very simple menu includes one food item: the Cuban sandwich, made with mojo pork butt, ham, Swiss cheese, and pickles, all on bolillo bread. Then there are two coffee drinks: the cafe con leche and cafecito.

Founder Carlos Suarez describes the vibe as “the spirit of a Miami-style Cuban cafe,” and makes a reference to the Florida city’s longtime Cuban restaurant Versailles. There are plans to add more dishes in the near future.

Suarez, who had owned El Tigre Coffee, started the pop-up in 2021 with Tony Curet (of former pizza truck Dough Boys/new pizza truck Side Eye), as a way to make some additional money and decided to focus on Cuban sandwiches because, “at the time, Austin was a Cuban sandwich food dessert,” as Suarez writes to Eater. The first event was successful, Suarez sold off El Tigre (which moved into a new location under new ownership), and continued to host more pop-ups.

Suarez connected with Better Half co-founder Matthew Bolick about opening a trailer (they’ve been friends since Suarez came by Bolick’s other spot Brew & Brew with El Tigre coffee samples back in the day). Bolick tells Eater that the Better Half team had been thinking about adding an outside truck to the space to help ease the demand on the kitchen and “provide a totally different food experience for our guests,” as he says.

The pop-up/trailer’s name refers to how Suarez’s Cuban friends would greet him — Spanish for “hey boy.” Eventually, he is into the idea of turning Oye Chico into a physical restaurant.

The trailer will be parked on Better Half’s patio, operating from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then from 6 to 10 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday.

Update 8/10 - This article has been updated with Oye Chico’s new opening date.