As Tony Sandone picks up dried out Fraser and noble firs on chilly January mornings, he’s not just bringing the Christmas season to a close.
Photography by Lauren Allen
He’s getting ready for next year.
While catching up with longtime customers and deciphering the best way out of their homes with an 8-foot-tall tree, Sandone makes mental (and sometimes, physical) notes.
This family places their tree facing a wall, this family leaves one side of branches bare.
What is he looking for?
The perfect tree for next year.
Tony has owned Sandone Christmas Trees since 1978. He first bought the lot from its previous owner after working as a seasonal employee while in college. Since then, the business has moved from its original Medallion Center lot to Greenville Avenue and eventually its current location behind Keller’s Burgers and Beer.
The operation has become well-known for “white glove” service and attention to detail. Over 70% of the customer base returns each year, often with special requests and custom orders for Sandone as he heads up to meet his Michigan growers months in advance.
“We’ve got a lot of customers that just want the same tree as last year,” Sandone says. “So we got notes. One guy wants it so many inches wide here, then go up so far. And he spells it out — inches really.”
Sandone only needs a few seconds to explain the difference between a soft needle and a hard needle. Or the variation in trees sourced from Michigan, Oregon and North Carolina. Or how to stand an 82-foot-tall tree. But then, as one of the few North Texans working in the Christmas tree business year-round, his expertise has to be all-encompassing.
Photography by Lauren Allen
That expertise starts to come in handy in late spring as Sandone makes his way back up to the family property in Michigan. For the next six to eight months, Sandone meets growers and stakes out prime fir and spruce trees for his clients. Some (Noble firs, specifically) are also occasionally sourced from Oregon, although Sandone rarely visits the Pacific Northwest on business.
“A lot of these trees are picked out especially for these people,” he says. “They’re not just randomly appearing.”
Sandone’s daughter, Veronica, says the timing of the harvest for some of his most popular species (concolor fir, blue spruce and Fraser fir) is intentionally timed to ensure his trees are felled up to a month after the ones found in big box stores.
“The timing is something we take pride in, even though he’s gone at one of the busiest points of setup, the tree was cut and driven down here within three days,” Veronica says. “And that is not what’s happening at The Home Depot or other stores.”
Special requests extend to decor as well. His business offers lighting services and can deliver trees already on stands. In addition, Sandone offers tree flocking (i.e., making the branches look frosty, blue, red or another color with a thin coating). One year, he was asked to flock a 7-foot tall blue spruce mustard for a yellow cab-crazed client in New York.
Most of the business lies in repeat and walk-in residential business. A significant remainder of Sandone’s seasonal sales come from commercial clients, who rely on his northern connections to root out the best trees for their lobbies, lawns and town squares. He’s one of a few suppliers of that scale in the region and has provided the City of Weatherford and Southern Methodist University with holiday attractions worth lighting ceremonies.
“A special frame has gotta be built. An 82-foot tree weighs about maybe 25,000 pounds. So it’s got to be secure,” he says. “You don’t want to go out there and restand.”
While Sandone finishes up harvest in early November, the rest of the operation ramps up behind classic car meets and bright neon lights on Northwest Highway. Hard at work are his employees, but also his children, cousins, nephews and sons-in-law — a family operation through and through.
Photography by Lauren Allen
Business accelerates even more as trees arrive in Dallas later on in the month. Between sending out the first orders, setting up the lot tent and preparing for the December rush, the family doesn’t have much time for leisure. Thanksgiving for many families means a restful day of eating and watching football. For the Sandones, however, it looks like an impromptu meal off Northwest Highway in the middle of their busiest season.
Sandone’s favorite part of Christmas?
“Christmas Eve,” he wryly chuckles, admitting that the end of deliveries comes as a more of a relief the older he gets.
Veronica says she would like her father to focus on tree hunting in Michigan and enjoying some well-deserved rest. Tony still just wants people walking away from his tree lot with a smile on their face.
“I just want them to remember the quality of our tree, the quality of our service, and just our eye for the quality and just service of the customer,” he says. “Because they’re there for a happy occasion.”
