Shocked! Fruita Wood & BBQ Supply closing


 
Timothy F. Lewis

Timothy F. Lewis

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I just had an email from Fruitawood! Bert is retiring! So, if you folks want “the good stuff” place your orders soon! I just did 30# but, ten each wild cherry, Pear, and orange!
Enjoy your retirement pal, I will miss the fine material you have provided me, I wish I’d started using your wood earlier!
 
DanHoo said:
Thanks @Timothy F. Lewis

I ordered a 10# of peach. I've been wanting to try it on pork roast.
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Now is the time to drive out to Brentwood because the Cherry Farms and the Vineyards are trimming the trees/vines. Bring a couple six pack of beers, find a farm with staves on the ground, offer the owner a six pack if you could take some staves. Most will just say help yourself, others will take you up on the beer. It’s a win win
 
Man that's a major bummer to hear! My dad introduced me into them a while back. Been using them for a few years now. My favorite blend to use for pretty much everything is apple, peach, cherry. I have ordered the maple, post oak, hickory, and a few others which all have been fantastic as well. Sad to see them go, but happy Bert is retiring and moving on to the next chapter in his life. Time to load up one last time.
 
Just got the email myself and I'm getting ready to place an order.

Don't know where we're gonna get wood of this quality after he retires . . .
 
Just ordered my last with Bert, unfortunately. As many might note, I've been a proponent of Fruita Wood Chunks.
45 pounds total this order since I still have some left over from last order.
It's been a great 12 years with Fruita. Wish Bert well in his retirement !
 
Chris Allingham said:
Bob, how would you compare it to Sharpe/Woodshed in Orange CA? I’ve bought from Sharpe a couple of times and it seems good to me. I only ordered once from Fruita, it seemed good, too. I’ve been using Sharpe to support a somewhat more local business and a fellow CBBQA member.
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We have used Sharpe / Woodshed often, especially for Blue Hog charcoal (and Chefs Select before that). Have also used their wood chunks, in the burlap bags (the ones they have stacked outside up against their office). Those bag's contents really don't compare to what I've received from Bert. Bert's were really fresh and fragrant.

Patty and crew are awesome people. Have enjoyed spending time with them when I was actively working the CBBQA BBQ classes on their site.

One item I have yet to try is the Sharpe smoking wood ! Will do so sometime this year. Heck, they're only a 15 or 20 minute drive away...
 
I hate to lose the wood source, but can't blame him
a bit for hanging it up when the time is right.
Happy retirement!
 
We have lots of fruit and oak trees on our California property so other than firewood we never had to buy any smoke wood.
I’ve even used almond firewood in the smokers and it worked just fine on chicken or salmon.
Now that I’m mainly living up north we don’t have much to choose from.
Pickens are so slim I don’t think I could afford to feed a stick burner.
The local Tribes use Alderwood which grows like a weed here but I’m not really a fan of it so no burning sticks for me.
 
Always a bummer to lose a good source of quality wood, but I hope that Bert enjoys his retirement!

I've always ordered from Sharpe/Woodshed, as my old college friend Ryan used to live near them so they were one of the first places I'd heard of. My family is a big fan of their red oak and olive wood chunks.

I also have to cook through what feels like a lifetime's supply of apple wood after our large apple tree shed two large, thick limbs in recent years, so I'm not sure the next time I'll be buying wood. My dad also chatted up a friend of a friend who trims trees, and the guy left us a bunch of white oak chunks here too..
 
I started using Fruita several years ago...just put in a final order for some peach and post oak. Cherry was all gone :(
 
Michael Chen said:
Always a bummer to lose a good source of quality wood, but I hope that Bert enjoys his retirement!

I've always ordered from Sharpe/Woodshed, as my old college friend Ryan used to live near them so they were one of the first places I'd heard of. My family is a big fan of their red oak and olive wood chunks.

I also have to cook through what feels like a lifetime's supply of apple wood after our large apple tree shed two large, thick limbs in recent years, so I'm not sure the next time I'll be buying wood. My dad also chatted up a friend of a friend who trims trees, and the guy left us a bunch of white oak chunks here too..
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anything you'd want/need is up here near Sacramento to Yuba City. all the fruit woods are in Yuba. and almond, oak, cherry, apple are all close by in the Sacramento region.
 
Bert is awesome and he sent this out as a email for everyone who ordered from him:

Thank you all for the overwhelming response to my notice of retirement. I received over 600 orders for wood in the past 48 hours. This is equal to about 2 months of work. I have had to shut the website down in order to balance the orders with my remaining inventory, and the production time needed to process all them. I estimate there is about 15+ ton of wood that need to be proceed and shipped by April 18. I can process about a ton a day. Once I am confident that I can generate more wood I will re-open the websites. I estimate this to be about April 1st at the earliest. At that time, I will process up the remaining wood in 30 and 45lb boxes. Quantities of each variety available will be updated. Once those quantities are sold the item will be listed as OUT OF STOCK and no longer available. I will update as soon as I have a firm grasp on everything. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

ALSO: If you have already placed and order, please allow up to 3-4 weeks for me to process and ship them. It going to take som time.
It is a bitter sweet ending for me. You all have made the past 16 years my most enjoyable. Some of you I have met out on the competitions circuits. Others I have met when you stopped in as you traveled through town while on vacation. It truly has been a rewarding experience. I have absolutely ZERO regrets.
 
Sharpe Woodshed doesn't have a working website, so maybe only local. Anyone else have another vendor like fruitawood to get quality smoking wood chunks?
 
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