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| - This should be a 1.5 star. I really wanted to like this place. I had been watching them get ready to open since the fall as I drive by this location almost daily, and had been looking to find a place closer to our home that is as good as Honey Bears BBQ on Central downtown, where I frequently get my BBQ delights.
MARK MY WORDS: If the owners of Cherry Tree don't up their game and get competitive with other already established BBQ places in Phoenix, this business will FAIL before Labor Day. Here is why:
1-THE MENU IS INCONSISTENT. It is written on a chalkboard and it seems given the various reviews I have read, different days have different offerings: like brisket only available on certain days. My wife and I were there last night (WED) around 645pm and they only had sandwiches and sides. No meat platters/combos and of course no brisket (My fav). I didn't even see mention of ribs on there.
2-THE PORTIONS ARE TINY and/or INCONSISTENT.. We ordered a BBQ chicken sandwich combo and a BBQ beef sandwich combo. Both with coleslaw one with fries one with creamed corn. The sandwiches were SMALL: regular hamburger bun with MAYBE 3oz of meat on each (think less than a can of tuna) you couldn't see any of it around the sides of the small bun, you had to lift it to be sure there was anything under there. A MINUSCULE 1.5oz container of coleslaw (the cheapest thing to make) offset by a fairly large order order of spicy fries, which were good, and a half-pint of creamed corn, which seemed oddly large next to the shot glasses of 'slaw. If it hadn't been for the corn and fries we would have had to make popcorn an hour after we got home.
3-THE COST. A sandwich with 2 sides is $13-$15. Sandwich alone $10??!!!! For what amounts to what should be about half that price. Why? Because one need only view Honey Bears BBQ menu online to see that they sell their sandwiches which are much fuller for $6.49. A combo with proportionate sides is $4.49 more so $11 for way more food. You can buy just meat at Honey Bears for between $13-$16 a POUND (16oz) all of their sides are $2.49 for 8oz, and that includes things like collard greens and mac 'n' cheese.
Basically we paid $30 for 2 meals that would have gone TWICE as far at Honey Bears, and they offer ALL MENU ITEMS ALL THE TIME.
4-THE FLAVOR/TEXTURE. It should be noted that the server who brought us our food mixed up the orders and I was given my wife's chicken sandwich and she got my beef and WE DIDN'T REALLY NOTICE UNTIL THE END! This is because they drown the meager meat portion in sauce so you can't taste anything BUT the sauce. She thought her chicken was stringy, I though the beef was a little light. We both agreed in the end that the chicken was the better of the two but neither was great. We also ordered a hot-link on its' own for $4.49to try it. It was like something out of a hot Smokies package from Safeway, and it was COLD. By the time we tried it we had resigned ourselves to just getting the food down and leave as we were starving and we had things to do later, I would deal with it on YELP.
The service was fine, but I got the impression the kitchen was being run by one or two teens. Perhaps in such early days the OWNERS might want to run the show until all the kinks have been ironed out from open to close. That's what needs to be done. You close at 8pm and don't serve breakfast. Suck it up and stay at work until you are CONFIDENT you are running a tight ship.
I worked in restaurants for 22years. The restaurant business is tough. If you want to be successful you have to know your established competition, know EXACTLY what they offer their customers and how, for what price and then do BETTER. Otherwise the contrast is glaring and you will fail. Simple as that. One need look no further than Honey Bears BBQ, an established, respected and loved business with 2 locations in the area to see where Cherry Tree is falling WAY short of the mark.
No one is reinventing BBQ. It's been around a long time. My mother has a house in North Carolina and I KNOW BBQ. Cherry Tree isn't worth it by a long shot. Take the $10 you'll save and drive to Honey Bears or any other well established BBQ place and enjoy your BBQ experience.
I won't be back to Cherry Tree because there is no need to ever go back. I drive by 2 other places all the time that I know are good. Perhaps it's time to channel Ben Franklin and put that Cherry Tree out of its misery? I will monitor this place on YELP, but am skeptical they can make the drastic changes they need to in order to be a competitor. I have a feeling this place was opened by someone who felt they had skills at BBQ at home, but had never operated or worked in a successful restaurant. Maybe Honey Bears is accepting applications? You think Im being glib (which I am) but I'm serious. The guy who owns wildly successful Lolo's Chicken and Waffles was a cook at a chicken and waffles place for long enough to learn the business and then make it better.
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