Mr. Roland Dickey and his siblings grew up hanging around the hickory-wood pits of his father’s Dallas restaurant, the original Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. As the son of our founder, Travis Dickey, Roland couldn’t help but develop a knack for cooking up savory barbecue favorites. In fact, many of the recipes on our menu were crafted by Mr. Dickey himself! However, he hadn’t always intended on becoming the Original Pit Master. Roland was pursuing a career in law at Southern Methodist University when he and his brother, T.D., stepped in to run the family-business upon his father’s passing in 1967.

Over his years running the restaurant, Roland and his brother were able to expand the business throughout the Dallas Fort Worth area, gaining popularity that extended well beyond the region. In 1994, Roland helped develop the first franchise location run by the Smiths, who are still franchisees to this day! In 2006, Roland passed the title of Pit Master to his son, Roland Jr., handing down a legacy that has spanned generations. Today, Roland travels the country to visit franchisees, hosts appreciation events, and remains active within our community of Dickey’s owners.

You could say that Roland Dickey, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of Dickey’s Capital Group, the holding company of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., has been with the brand since birth. As the grandson of Dickey’s founder, Roland Dickey Jr. knows the brand unlike anyone else. He grew up learning how to make Dickey’s famous slow-smoked meats from his father, fostering a great love for barbecue before heading off to Southern Methodist University to study Business Administration. Roland Dickey Jr. became the third generation of Dickeys to work with the brand in 1999 and was transitioned to his current role in 2016.

Under Roland’s leadership, Dickey’s has expanded from 20 locations to more than 550 nationwide and internationally. His expertise includes growth strategies that enable him to scale the family business and take it to new heights. In addition to Dickey’s restaurants, Roland Dickey Jr. also oversees a portfolio of businesses that include retail products, manufacturers, real estate, metal fabrication, and distribution companies.

Since beginning with the company, Roland Dickey Jr. has earned numerous recognitions, awards, and accolades for his work on the Dickey’s brand. This includes such honors as being named in Nation’s Restaurant News’s 50 Most Powerful People in Foodservice, D Magazine’s Top 500 CEOs list, and Restaurant Business’s Top 20 Leadership Power List, just to name a few. With Roland Dickey Jr. at the helm, Dickey’s continues to be a family-run business with an emphasis on the quality food and Southern hospitality that made us famous.

Laura Rea Dickey serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. With over 20 years of experience in the marketing and information technology fields, Laura Rea continually inspires innovation in the Dickey’s brand while keeping spirits high with her witty sense of humor.

Before her role as CEO, Laura Rea worked with various marketing agencies to grow large scale brands such as W Hotels, American Heart Association, and Chick-Fil-A. Specializing in the intersection between technology and marketing, she became an expert at turning data insights into tangible business solutions. With these skills in tow, she came to work for Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Inc., soon becoming the Chief Information Officer. In this role, she implemented a new technology infrastructure that included data reporting, information security, and tools for franchisees.

In 2017, Laura Rea took her seat as CEO, but we don’t think she’s been doing much sitting since then. Always on the hunt for growth opportunities, Laura Rea has overseen our international development, launched new additions to our menu, and helped pioneer programs that have contributed to positive same store sales in all digital channels over the past three years. And it’s not just the Dickey’s team that has taken notice of her successes, either. In 2019 alone, Laura Rea Dickey was named to the Nation’s Restaurant News Power List, featured in D Magazine’s Top 500 CEOs, and awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from Hospitality Technology.

In addition to spearheading Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., Laura Rea also serves on the board of our nonprofit, The Dickey Foundation, that supports first responders and their families. A true leader in every sense of the word, Laura Rea is driving Dickey’s forward while keeping to the values that make our family-owned brand so special.

Renee Roozen currently serves as Chief Administrative Officer at Dickey’s Capital Group, Inc. Roozen has been with the Dickey’s family since 2015 starting out as the Vice President of Operations at Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. and quickly made the move to President. In her role of Chief Administrative Officer, Ms. Roozen moved from an operations role to be more hands on at the Dickey’s Home Office where she manages all human resources and training functions. She also oversees all office and cross functional project management for Dickey’s Barbecue Pit and all affiliate brands. Just before joining the Dickey’s team, Ms. Roozen held the title of Vice President of Operations and Training at Famous Brands International.

Jim Perkins serves as Executive Vice President of International Sales and Support for Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. Jim has vast experience in restaurant and convenience store management and has worked specifically in operations, development, training and financial roles for brands all over the world including Papa Murphy’s, Exxon Mobil and MAM Food Co. Jim graduated from Purdue University and earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Bachelor of Arts in Spanish. He later went on to further develop his Spanish speaking skills in Sevilla, Spain at the Windsor Institute of Languages. In addition, Jim is the author of the book titled Beyond Bodegas and is a globally recognized speaker and consultant with former clients including Nestle, Disney and the Los Angeles County Department of Health. In 2017 Jim was named a Board Member of the Global Restaurant Leadership Conference.

Jeff Gruber serves as Senior Vice President of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc. In his role, he handles all Dickey’s franchise relations and focuses on creating lasting relationships between the Dickey’s Home Office and every franchisee. Gruber began his career with Dickey’s in 2008 and has since been a lead in a variety of initiatives in various departments across the company. Prior to joining Dickey’s, Gruber worked as an attorney for different firms in Dallas including Byrne Cardenas & Aris, LLP and Goldstein & Scopellite, PC. Gruber earned a bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Spring Hill College and holds a Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law.

Shayla Partusch serves as the Vice President of Purchasing and Retail at Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. Partusch joined the Dickey’s family in 2014 as a purchasing auditor and has since been promoted to her current role. Today, she oversees all supply chain distribution for every Dickey’s location nationwide and handles all of Dickey’s retail products in more than 3,000 grocery stores across the nation. Prior to her time at Dickey’s, Partusch worked at Knox Oil Field Supply in the accounting department. She earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Angelo State University and her master’s degree in accounting from WGU.

Vladivoj Lisica Fox joined the Dickey’s off-shore technology and development team in 2021, thinking he would only be the team’s HR assistant. The universe, however, is fickle, so today he manages about fifty people across diverse software development and support teams, coordinates projects, and partners closely with everyone in Dickey’s to drive tech and other activities. Outside of this life, Fox has a Master’s degree in English and IT Education, has worked as a translator for a decade, had a fun temporary gig as a radio host, writes and hosts pub quizzes, has been doing social media and event management for his favorite pub since 2018, organized a sci-fi convention for twenty years, and is an avid gamer. He survives on coffee, sarcasm, and crude humor.

Christine Reddy serves as the Senior Regional Vice President of Operations at Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. Christine joined the Dickey’s family in 2021, starting out as the Director of 3PV Sales with Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. In 2022 she was promoted to Vice President of Virtual Concepts and most recently promoted to her current role as Sr. RVP of Operations in 2024. In her role as Sr. RVP of Operations, Christine and her team oversee and cultivate store operations and sales as well as the third-party delivery app sales for all Dickey’s locations. Prior to joining the Dickey’s family, Christine worked as a Director of Corporate Sales and Customer Management at Talus Pay. Christine graduated from Baylor University and earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and business marketing.

Chef Phil Butler, Plant & Product Manager, has worked in the restaurant industry for over 20 years and began his journey with Legit. Texas. Barbecue in August of 2018. His passion for the restaurant industry began at the mere age of 13 and he later went on to develop his skills at the Culinary School of America in New York. Chef Phil’s previous experience includes curating menus and restaurant layouts for both upscale and casual dining concepts. Chef Phil’s work has been featured in multiple events and publications,, including the James Beard House and Bon Appetit Magazine.

Audrey Garrison serves as Vice President of Operations and Company stores at Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. Garrison joined the Dickey’s family in 2022 as a Financial Operations Director and has since been promoted to her current role. Today, she oversees the operations team, leads the company owned restaurants and the franchisee and employee training and new store opening teams. Prior to her time at Dickey’s, Garrison has more than 20 years in the hospitality industry, working for companies including Arcis Golf, Front Burner and Chef Tim Love’s LoveStyle.

With nearly 30 years of storied performance, Chef Matthew Burton translates a complex knowledge of flavors and service to a simpler, slower philosophy of food. Matt received his training at the Culinary Institute of America, Johnson & Wales and the University of Nebraska as well as through work in Thailand, Mexico, Switzerland and Germany.

Matt’s culinary career began at Aramark where he served as their corporate chef for North America. He then moved to ConAgra, where he worked as director of culinary R & D for retail, foodservice and the ConAgra Ingredient Group. Following his time at ConAgra, Matt transitioned to Unilever’s food service division and worked with top national restaurant brands to develop new products and menus.

Along with seven patents in foodservice and retail categories, Matt is the only chef in the United States that holds certifications from the American Culinary Federation, the Research Chefs Association, the Hotel & Lodging Association and the Kansas City BBQ Society. Chef Matt has multiple State, National, and International BBQ awards.