Within two years since its opening, Bryan’s Black Mountain Barbecue has not only helped create Cave Creek’s well-known Las Tiendas, run by a father-son duo, but it has become a destination family eatery in the area as well.
At a time when the economy has hurt most of the restaurant business, Bryan Dooley’s twist of barbecue and fine dining has helped the restaurant win awards and keep the customers full and happy.
“It’s about going back to the basics … family oriented and chef driven,” Bryan Dooley says. “We also wanted to keep it a little upscale, take a little of the fine dining corporate world into the barbeque. It’s part of the quality of the restaurant.”
According to Bryan Dooley, the restaurant’s success is due to its landscaping, the environment and feel of the restaurant as well as the relationships established with its clients.
“We had been living in the area for a long time,” Bryan Dooley says. “We knew what the area needed, and we wanted to build on its sense of community and maintain the vibrant theme. We wanted to create a restaurant my family would want to go to.”
With 13 years of experience as a chef for The Princess Fairmont Hotel in Scottsdale, Bryan Dooley didn’t begin entertaining future plans of opening his own restaurant until an unfortunate ice skating accident, leaving him with a broken leg and five months of free time.
Around the same time, father Joe Dooley retired from the family insurance business, left with the desire to begin a new project; thus the duo began plans to open the restaurant in Las Tiendas as well as help the center grow.
Las Tiendas stays true to the historic, western theme and atmosphere of downtown Cave Creek, boasting a sense of small business and community. This proved to be the best location for the restaurant.
“We liked the area; it was the perfect place for a barbecue,” Joe Dooley says. “We’ve brought Las Tiendas a long way from when we purchased it.”
Las Tiendas is comprised of galleries and shops, including The Bridge Gallery, Steven Dewitt Perrin Gallery and Western Delights — the center featuring Southwestern and American Indian art, gifts and accessories.
According to Joe Dooley, their ultimate goal for Las Tiendas was to find people who would continue to work well with the restaurant and complement the town, leading to the addition of art galleries and western-themed shops.
Las Tiendas continues to grow, and since the opening of Bryan’s Barbecue in 2009, it has been recognized for Bryan’s basic, yet quality barbecue dishes leading to several awards, including Phoenix New Times’ “Best of Brisket.”
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If You Go:
6130 E. Cave Creek Rd.
Cave Creek, Arizona 85331
480-575-7155
www.bryansbarbecue.com
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