Dickey's Barbecue Pit is an American family-owned

barbecue restaurant A barbecue restaurant is a restaurant that specializes in barbecue-style cuisine and dishes. Barbecue restaurants may open relatively early compared to other restaurants, in part to optimize sales while barbecued foods being slow-cooked by the pr ...

chain based in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, and is a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

of Dickey's Capital Group. Since Travis Dickey established the restaurant in 1941, it has become the largest barbecue franchise in the United States and worldwide.

History

In 1941, Travis Dickey founded Dickey's Barbecue Pit in

(original location: 4610 N Central Expy, Dallas, Texas, which is still in operation as of 2017). The restaurant began franchising in 1994. Roland Dickey Jr. was appointed CEO of the restaurant chain in 2006. Technomic named Dickey's Barbecue Pit the "Fastest-growing restaurant chain in the country" in 2012. That year, QSR Magazine included Dickey's Barbecue Pit on its list of "Best Franchise Deals." Dickey's Barbecue Pit established its Barbecue, Boots & Badges Foundation (Now The Dickey Foundation), a charity foundation for law enforcement officers and firefighters, in November 2014. Fast Casual included the restaurant on its list of "Top 100 Movers and Shakers: Restaurants" in May 2014. In 2015, Ernst & Young recognized Roland Dickey Jr. as Entrepreneur Of The Year Award Winner in the Southwest Region. In 2017, Laura Rea Dickey was named chief executive officer of Dickey's Barbecue Pit. She managed under the umbrella of Dickey's Capital Group, the parent company of Dickey's Barbecue Pit brand. In 2018, the company opened its first international location at the

Yas Mall Yas Mall () is a mall in Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It serves as a place for shopping, dining and entertainment for residents of Abu Dhabi and Yas Island. It covers approximately 235,000 square metres (2.5 million square feet). ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. This location resulted from a franchising deal with operator Serenity Hospitality, based in Abu Dhabi. In a collaborative effort, the company and Dickey's customized its menu for locals, adding offerings such as smoked lamb and beef sausages. The second international location opened in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

in March 2019. The first Dickey's Barbecue Pit in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

opened in its Central Business District in March 2021. The franchise is a ghost kitchen concept in the Central Kitchen Co., a contactless food court across from the city's Cross Street Exchange. In April 2021, the chain expanded to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, starting in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, with plans to open a restaurant in every major city in the country. The Tokyo restaurant is located in the Kamiosaki District of Shinagawa-ku and offers limited dine-in seating as well as takeout and third-party delivery. It will be operated by the Japan Barbecue Franchise Company's owner, Sunsheng (Jason) Lin. In April 2022, the chain expanded into

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, starting in

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

. The restaurant offers a wide variety of

Halal ''Halal'' (; ) is an Arabic word that translates to in English. Although the term ''halal'' is often associated with Islamic dietary laws, particularly meat that is slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines, it also governs ethical practices ...

options and is owned by local entrepreneurs Mohammed Hussain and Sadia Khan. The chain has seen a number of years of declining sales and shuttered locations, dropping to 385 open restaurants in May of 2024 from an apparent high of 571.

Key people

* Laura Rea Dickey,

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

* Jay Rooney,

chief financial officer A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

* Renee Roozen, chief administrative officer

Operations

Dickey's Barbecue Pit is a fast-casual restaurant that serves beef brisket, pulled pork, pork ribs, Polish sausage, spicy cheddar sausage, hot link, and chicken. The restaurant chain smokes its meat on-site over wood-burning hickory pits. Additionally, Dickey's Barbecue Pit serves home-style sides including fried okra, jalapeño beans, green beans with bacon, waffle iron fries, barbecue beans, Caesar or garden salad, macaroni and cheese, corn on cob, and onion tanglers. The same recipes have been used since the restaurant was established in 1941.

Franchising

The restaurant began franchising in 1994. By January 2017, Dickey's Barbecue Pit Franchise had more than 483 restaurant locations in 43 states. The restaurant hosts "Barbecue U," an intensive, three-week session for franchise owners and operators. Dickey's Barbecue Pit customizes franchise restaurants based on location. Dickey's differentiates its franchise from other restaurant franchise companies by offering what it calls "six revenue streams", listing them as: Dine-In, Catering, Online Ordering, Outside Delivery, Retail Items, and Holiday Meals. The ''New York Times'' reported on an investigation that alleged people "were enticed to purchase franchises based on misleading financial information provided by the company, often putting them under water on their restaurants before they even opened." and that "people alleging misrepresentations and deception going back more than a decade, surfaced in complaints and comments filed with the Federal Trade Commission, in lawsuits and in news articles."

References

External links