The Delightful (and tasty) Secret Hiding in Lake Alfred

Florida has thousands upon thousands of little secrets scattered across the region, thousands of small delightful spaces that are visited almost strictly by the locals because of location and lack of options in the surrounding area. Sometimes, the technological changes within the country affects the trajectories of the towns and cities of select states the doesn’t quite have the same urban footprint or population density of the more-populated places.

Florida, as populated as it has become today, historically had been a mostly-rural landscape that survived on its great railway system primarily built to distribute all the agriculture the state was growing. Lake Alfred was supported by Florida’s railroad system more than a century ago but today stands as a mostly-skipped town because the railway routes got discontinued, and Interstate 4 diverted the traffic away from 17-92.

But as the state grows more and more and further away from the rail, one secret remains standing, and standing strong.

The Barn Antiques’ family of stores featuring The Back Porch Restaurant.

On the northern end of Lake Alfred is a series of great antique and home goods stores with a mountain of variety to satisfy every homeowner for houses big and small. This space has been around since the 1960s but had been growing steadily as the thirst for antiques in the United States kept growing and the state was becoming more populated and more visited. A very understated aspect of the Sunshine State is how there are many giant spaces for antiques, older artwork, old books, and classic Americana furniture and decorations. There’s actually a Florida antique trail featuring over 100 places to visit.

You can easily spend hours slowly traversing through the stores to check out everything they have to offer, as they have furniture, art, backyard decorations, crafts, holiday-centric knick-knacks, and so much more. With the thousands of available items, its why Back Porch is a crucial yet delightful space to take a break, have a meal, drink some coffee, and peacefully recover from all the antique exploration.

Don’t let the cozy setting and isolated location fool you, this restaurant packs a serious quality punch even with a simpler, less flashy menu. On my visit I went with their turkey sandwich, which was recommended by the cashier. I also decided to get their garden pasta and the potato salad. All of them were bangers, nothing complicated but ultimately delicious. The overall presentation was also very nice, with a weekend picnic aesthetic throughout the entire experience. Also, don’t sleep on their coffee and giant peanut butter cup (didn’t get a picture of the peanut butter because I immediately devoured it).

What some might see as a setback, others can see as an advantage. Back Porch and all the surrounding stores are located essentially in the middle of nowhere, miles away from the residential core of Lake Alfred, and more miles away from the next closest town. This is about as close to a pure escape as it can get, as even the signal to my IPhone was struggling a little bit while roaming here. So this area isn’t a good addition to a road trip itinerary, this area has to be the SOLE item in the itinerary.

Worthy of a full day’s visit, The Back Porch and all the household-friendly stores within this acre will entertain, delight, interest you, while providing you an excellent lunch. Family-owned and operated, it’s a classic Florida attraction that has enthralled the locals for decades, while finding new curious fans far and wide as the place expands and the reputation grows. Florida is chock full of fun secrets outside the usual tourist corners, and this place is just another example of what the state can offer outside of the usual suspects.