Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Booms With New Interest Amid Pandemic

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit – the world’s largest barbecue franchise – executed a new development agreement earlier this week, marking the 100th new store in the pipeline for the family-owned brand.

The concept known for serving authentic, Texas-style barbecue is expanding to new territories all over the U.S. including Detroit, Gainesville, Florida; Oahu, Hawaii; Playa Del Rey, California; South Bend, Indiana; Worcester, Massachusetts; and Williamsburg, Virginia. 

To encourage new beginnings for restaurant-curious entrepreneurs looking to expand their business opportunities, Dickey’s is offering a 90-day signing incentive package for first-time franchisees who sign-up for a new store anytime during the month of April.

“Resilient brands, like ours, always take challenging times as an opportunity to reinvest, renew and emerge stronger than before,” said Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. “We’re proud to have so many new folks join our family who see the actions we’re taking in local communities and want to be a part of our mission to give back.”

Dickey’s is providing relief for their franchisees during this difficult time by offering an extensive Covid-19 response program and cutting, not abating, royalties by 50%. The brand known for authentic, Texas-style barbecue also rolled out an upgraded ecommerce site earlier this month and their digital sales have grown by 104.6% since the launch of their enhanced website.

In 1994, the Dallas-based Dickey’s Barbecue Pit began franchising and offering veterans a 25% discount off their initial franchise fee. In that time, Dickey’s grew to become the world’s largest barbecue franchise and in 2019 was recognized as the Global Franchise Award Winner in the Food and Beverage Category. Other notable honors include being named to Fast Casual’s Top 100 Movers and Shakers list consecutively the past three years and voted #2 on USA Today’s Best Fast Casual Restaurants Reader’s Choice List. 

About Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. 

Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the world’s largest barbecue concept, was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey. For the past 79 years, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has served millions of guests Legit. Texas. Barbecue.™ At Dickey’s, all of our barbecued meats are smoked on-site in a hickory wood burning pit. Dickey’s proudly believes there’s no shortcut to true barbecue, which is why they never say “bbq.” The Dallas-based, family-run barbecue franchise offers several slow-smoked meats and wholesome sides with “No B.S. (Bad Stuff)” included. The fast-casual concept has expanded worldwide with two international locations in the UAE and operates over 500 locations in 44 states. In 2016, Dickey’s placed first on Fast Casual’s “Top 100 Movers and Shakers” list and was named a “Top 500 Franchise” by Entrepreneur in 2018. Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has also been recognized by Fox News, Franchise Times, The Wall Street Journal, QSR Magazine, Forbes Magazine and Nation’s Restaurant News. For more information, visit www.dickeys.com.