Provided by Anthony Garcia
Audio By Carbonatix
The team behind one of the Valley’s top smokehouses wants to bring “honest” cheeseburgers, fries and shakes to Avondale. Eric’s Family Barbecue owner Anthony Garcia will expand his focus from slow-smoking slabs of beef to grinding and grilling it.
“I’m going to do a unique, yet honest cheeseburger, with shakes and all,” Garcia says.
The team has its sights set on Avondale, but is still working on where exactly the burger joint will open in the West Valley city. Garcia has his eye on Western Avenue, which stretches through Old Town Avondale. Garcia’s barbecue spot sits just over five miles northeast of the area. He and his pitmasters have served Central Texas-style smoked meats and side dishes that nod to the Southwest and the South since 2020. For his next project, the restaurateur hopes to restore something he feels is missing from the area.
“We’re dry out here on a locally owned mom-and-pop burger joint,” Garcia says. “A good joint that’s got good music, good bites, good staff.”
What to expect at Army Ant’s Cheeseburgers
While Garcia and Army Ant’s general manager Victoria Kays work to secure a location, they’re developing the restaurant’s menu and design. The burger joint’s name nods to Garcia and Kays’ service in the 82nd Airborne Division.
Army Ant’s signature cheeseburger starts with a third-pound beef patty griddled on a flat-top. It’s then stacked with American cheese, tomato, red onion, aioli, pickles and shredded lettuce lightly tossed in oil and vinegar onto a toasted bun. Lastly, the burgers get wrapped in paper and foil, “that way it all steams together once it hits you,” Garcia says.
Dressing the lettuce will set the burger apart from others, he notes, explaining “the acidity that’s going to add to the cheese is going to be mindblowing.”
While the menu isn’t finalized, the chef and owner anticipates diners will be able to customize their burger with more patties or other toppings, such as bacon that’s been cold-smoked on an offset smoker at Eric’s. Army Ant’s will also serve a grilled chicken breast sandwich, double-fried French fries and shakes.
Kays and Garcia envision Army Ant’s as the kind of drive-in destination seen in classic movies like “Grease” and “American Graffiti.”
“Think about back in the ’50s and ’60s,” Kays says. “Everybody wanted to be there all night playing music, sitting in their cars, eating a burger, drinking a shake with 10 other friends.”
Garcia calls the inspiration for Army Ant’s “old school funk,” and promises, “we’re going to make sure it’s a vibe.”
When the burger joint will open depends on where they ultimately set up shop. Garcia says the restaurant should be open no later than January 2028.
No matter where they end up, it won’t be the last spot Garcia will open in Avondale. He hopes to open more restaurants in the area in the future.
“I always knew I wanted to open multiple restaurants,” Garcia says. “I never wanted to open the same restaurant with multiple locations, because I always want each restaurant to maintain how special it is and how unique it is.”
