There's one opening about 500 yards from my house and I was curious if anyone has eaten there. Website looks like they are big in Florida, but menu doesn't look like it will go over well in NC.
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
They are a bunch of friends,folks we know,bad partnerships,odds and ends.
Hope this helps
When the space center was starting in the early '50s,this was palmettos and wilderness.
Some folks from the missile areas from TX to White Sands were shipped in here.
We had good Tx/Mx to tacobell.
Like all the cheap steakhouse chains which developed in FL,when one was flying,a bunch of partners branch out and formed their own.
Many failed-no cooks.
Money and stocks were rolling.
Taxes dictated lots of offerings,and running a restaurant had nothing to do with it.
Some of our good ol' boys,did Fat Boy's BBQ and they took off with the Space Program.
They always had GOOD beans,a salad bar,and full liquor.
Liquor was tied to ABC Liquors,somehow.
Hot cook pork on Southern Pride to 170*,slice it thick and fat.
Lots of beans and booze.
Southern pride chicken,lots of rib specials.
Often,all you can eat untrimmed spares.
It is promoted all you can eat ribs,fries and beans,cost extra refills.
It was hot,so some of the guys went to Gainesville and hooked up with Sonny Tillman-who was a local.
Called them SONNY"S.
Some were franchise,some locals,you pick 'em.
Some took off to Jacksonville,Fl and same deal.
J;Ville called their's WOODY's
Pay your money,no control,bankruptcies galore ,when the tax laws changes in "86.
Nobody knows who owns what,although Sonny's corporate group,seems to pushing theit product thru franchises.
Can't help much else,except maybe a corporate ad program,hard to beat on rib nights.
Lots do a full breakfast,with a full bar.
They know where the money is.
More fold,than survive.
Hope this helps
When the space center was starting in the early '50s,this was palmettos and wilderness.
Some folks from the missile areas from TX to White Sands were shipped in here.
We had good Tx/Mx to tacobell.
Like all the cheap steakhouse chains which developed in FL,when one was flying,a bunch of partners branch out and formed their own.
Many failed-no cooks.
Money and stocks were rolling.
Taxes dictated lots of offerings,and running a restaurant had nothing to do with it.
Some of our good ol' boys,did Fat Boy's BBQ and they took off with the Space Program.
They always had GOOD beans,a salad bar,and full liquor.
Liquor was tied to ABC Liquors,somehow.
Hot cook pork on Southern Pride to 170*,slice it thick and fat.
Lots of beans and booze.
Southern pride chicken,lots of rib specials.
Often,all you can eat untrimmed spares.
It is promoted all you can eat ribs,fries and beans,cost extra refills.
It was hot,so some of the guys went to Gainesville and hooked up with Sonny Tillman-who was a local.
Called them SONNY"S.
Some were franchise,some locals,you pick 'em.
Some took off to Jacksonville,Fl and same deal.
J;Ville called their's WOODY's
Pay your money,no control,bankruptcies galore ,when the tax laws changes in "86.
Nobody knows who owns what,although Sonny's corporate group,seems to pushing theit product thru franchises.
Can't help much else,except maybe a corporate ad program,hard to beat on rib nights.
Lots do a full breakfast,with a full bar.
They know where the money is.
More fold,than survive.
Tom, you drug me so far through the weeds, I don't have a clue.
Sorry 'bout that,but that is about as close as I can get to explaining a " north Fl operation,going under the name of woody's.
Fatboy's,a group of locals,opened ,outside Cape Canaveral.
It did all right,so guys split off to Gainesville-Sonny's,and Jacksonville-Woody's.
They sold a few locations to friends,and franchises to anyone with some cash.
Then they were on their own.
The IRS structure,at the time, was such that whatever you lost in a limited partnership,you got back on your tax return.
This was the premise behind them.
Restaurant experience was not a criteria,and failures abounded.
Some places sold with the names,some without.
No real cohesive corporate structure,or support.
Thus,a Woody's -of north Fl,near Todd,could be almost anything.
They had a good breakfast business,and an all day full liquor bar-if they could get it.
All three were known for a side of good bbq beans.
All undercooked butts,sliced them thick and fatty.
Untrimmed,large spares was their standard promo.
All you could eat,some nights.
Maybe three kinds of sauce.
A few bought Southern Pride gassers,others had an assortment of locally built stickburners.
The approach to beef[remember this is Fl and brisket had not been heard of]was cooking a round and thin slicing it,with plenty of sauce.
Seems like one night would be all you could eat chicken.
The last known one in maybe 100 miles,closed a few years ago.
Put a sign on the front door,and told staff to go home.
It is a seafood raw bar now.
Don't know how else to explain it,but if there are any specific questions,I'll give 'em a shot.
Fatboy's,a group of locals,opened ,outside Cape Canaveral.
It did all right,so guys split off to Gainesville-Sonny's,and Jacksonville-Woody's.
They sold a few locations to friends,and franchises to anyone with some cash.
Then they were on their own.
The IRS structure,at the time, was such that whatever you lost in a limited partnership,you got back on your tax return.
This was the premise behind them.
Restaurant experience was not a criteria,and failures abounded.
Some places sold with the names,some without.
No real cohesive corporate structure,or support.
Thus,a Woody's -of north Fl,near Todd,could be almost anything.
They had a good breakfast business,and an all day full liquor bar-if they could get it.
All three were known for a side of good bbq beans.
All undercooked butts,sliced them thick and fatty.
Untrimmed,large spares was their standard promo.
All you could eat,some nights.
Maybe three kinds of sauce.
A few bought Southern Pride gassers,others had an assortment of locally built stickburners.
The approach to beef[remember this is Fl and brisket had not been heard of]was cooking a round and thin slicing it,with plenty of sauce.
Seems like one night would be all you could eat chicken.
The last known one in maybe 100 miles,closed a few years ago.
Put a sign on the front door,and told staff to go home.
It is a seafood raw bar now.
Don't know how else to explain it,but if there are any specific questions,I'll give 'em a shot.
Tom - I think you know more about this than you are letting on... 
Woody's opened one up in Sevierville, Tn. My wife and I went and the food was terriable. Will never go back.
Joe
Joe
Howdy Joe,
Haven't heard much out of you and Voncille this spring.
Hope things are well.
Haven't heard much out of you and Voncille this spring.
Hope things are well.
Lots of neat info, not sure if the original question was answered, is it any good?
I'll let you know when it opens. Looks like they have about a week left.
They better be good. It seems a bad time to open/sell unremarkable food.quote:Originally posted by Todd G.:
I'll let you know when it opens. Looks like they have about a week left.
Seen on local cable news today.. a rib joint in Wilson, NC, has a new 'bad economy' promo. NO bill/check. Only an envelope left at table for customers to decide for themselves how much to pay. You fill it/seal it and walk out. They claim it is a big hit w/ only one patron to leave empty envelope.
Opened yesterday. I went there today.
WOW! is all I can say. I have never had BBQ like that before.
I had brisket(BBQ beef on their menu), pulled pork, mashed potatoes, slaw, and we got an app sampler platter with fried mushrooms, corn nibblets, cheese sticks, and onion rings.
I tasted each one of the 5 sauces on the table: Mustard, hot, carolina style, southern sweet, and pure vinegar(called Eastern Carolina on the bottle). The vinegar was excellent.
I can honestly say that everything we tried set new standards as to food quality and taste. I've never had anything like it, and never would have imagined being served food that was so consistent in flavor and appearance in any restaurant. Just WOW!!!
WOW! is all I can say. I have never had BBQ like that before.
I had brisket(BBQ beef on their menu), pulled pork, mashed potatoes, slaw, and we got an app sampler platter with fried mushrooms, corn nibblets, cheese sticks, and onion rings.
I tasted each one of the 5 sauces on the table: Mustard, hot, carolina style, southern sweet, and pure vinegar(called Eastern Carolina on the bottle). The vinegar was excellent.
I can honestly say that everything we tried set new standards as to food quality and taste. I've never had anything like it, and never would have imagined being served food that was so consistent in flavor and appearance in any restaurant. Just WOW!!!
I realized that was a little vague. Let me be more clear.............
If Tom Hanks had been stranded on his island and a party tray of food from Woody's came floating by, he would have jumped on it, dragged it to shore, and buried it so the fish wouldn't eat it and die. This was the worst, most tasteless, across the board bad food, I've ever been served, anywhere!
Brisket and pork both appeared and tasted as if they had been steamed. Seriously, steamed! As their ONLY means of cooking. Both were cooked to approx 170* as Tom mentioned on an earlier post. No smoke taste. No smoke color. Just a consistent gray color inside and out. Both meats were very tough and inedible.
Mashed potatoes were cheap, water based, instant with no seasoning at all.
Texas toast was fine, as was the slaw.
Mustard sauce was basically like brown mustard and lacked the sweet notes that good mustard sauce in SC brings to the table. Other sauces all seemed to be the same sauce with some slight addition to modify flavor, but all shared a dominate tomato sauce taste with little to suggest BBQ sauce was in the bottle. Plain ketchup would have been an improvement on any of the sauces.
Apps were all of frozen variety. Onion rings were good for frozen, but the other items were below Sam's Club quality.
How the he77 a restaurant like this can exist is beyond me. Any, and I do mean ANY review of the competition would turn up so many bad restaurants that served superior food to Woody's that one wonders why they bother. Don't they ever eat out? Do they really think this is good food?
Restaurant looks nice. I don't know if it's a company store or a franchise, but as soon as the money runs out they will be gone. This place was terrible. Period. And I wouldn't even call it BBQ because it didn't look like any BBQ I've ever seen or tasted. Doesn't even rate 1 oink.
Tom, I not that bright. You should have hit me over the head with a warning when I asked about them. I feel like you owe me $17. 
If Tom Hanks had been stranded on his island and a party tray of food from Woody's came floating by, he would have jumped on it, dragged it to shore, and buried it so the fish wouldn't eat it and die. This was the worst, most tasteless, across the board bad food, I've ever been served, anywhere!
Brisket and pork both appeared and tasted as if they had been steamed. Seriously, steamed! As their ONLY means of cooking. Both were cooked to approx 170* as Tom mentioned on an earlier post. No smoke taste. No smoke color. Just a consistent gray color inside and out. Both meats were very tough and inedible.
Mashed potatoes were cheap, water based, instant with no seasoning at all.
Texas toast was fine, as was the slaw.
Mustard sauce was basically like brown mustard and lacked the sweet notes that good mustard sauce in SC brings to the table. Other sauces all seemed to be the same sauce with some slight addition to modify flavor, but all shared a dominate tomato sauce taste with little to suggest BBQ sauce was in the bottle. Plain ketchup would have been an improvement on any of the sauces.
Apps were all of frozen variety. Onion rings were good for frozen, but the other items were below Sam's Club quality.
How the he77 a restaurant like this can exist is beyond me. Any, and I do mean ANY review of the competition would turn up so many bad restaurants that served superior food to Woody's that one wonders why they bother. Don't they ever eat out? Do they really think this is good food?
Restaurant looks nice. I don't know if it's a company store or a franchise, but as soon as the money runs out they will be gone. This place was terrible. Period. And I wouldn't even call it BBQ because it didn't look like any BBQ I've ever seen or tasted. Doesn't even rate 1 oink.
Tom, I not that bright. You should have hit me over the head with a warning when I asked about them. I feel like you owe me $17.
Hey. Glad to hear you enjoyed the experience. Are you going back soon?
Are you going back soon?
They might do just fine...
I have noticed(more than once) folks from around here can brag on their favorite local restaurant and never mention 'taste' as a criteria. It usually goes like "they sure give you a lot of food for the money" etc. We have a local "Italian" joint that serves the worst posible faux Italian food imaginable. Every Sunday the "buffet" packs the house. Go figure.
I noticed Woody's caters so watch out... lol
I have noticed(more than once) folks from around here can brag on their favorite local restaurant and never mention 'taste' as a criteria. It usually goes like "they sure give you a lot of food for the money" etc. We have a local "Italian" joint that serves the worst posible faux Italian food imaginable. Every Sunday the "buffet" packs the house. Go figure.
I noticed Woody's caters so watch out... lol
Over the years, when I ask people what they like about their favorite restaurant, they always say the same thing....
love the sauce
love the sauce