Dickey's Barbecue Pit Still Going Strong After 77 Years

Travis Dickey, a world war II veteran, opened the first Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Dallas in 1941 with a limited menu.

14:45 02 February 2019

No one could have even guessed Dickey’s pit would become the leading barbecue restaurant chain with its presence in more than 500 locations in 44 states.

But couple of decades later, after his sons Roland and T.D. Dickey took over, the business has diversified into new territories, the number of restaurants have grown multi-fold, and now, Roland Dickey Jr and his wife are all set to take the family-owned restaurant franchise to a whole new level as they push forward on their mission to take Dickey’s BBQ culture and style to a wider audience by opening new franchises in different locations around the country and globe.

What started as a small-town bbq joint in a charming Texas town is now growing into a phenomenon in the global bbq circuit. Considering Roland Dickey jr’s age, he has done incredibly well to to light that smokehouse fire in many places that were an underwhelming BBQ scene, carrying on his great grandfather’s legacy.

Although they’ve carried the mantle of traditional Texas bbq cooking to different locations, full marks to Dickey’s for trying to do different things with barbecue such as the 14-hour slow smoked brisket and giving customers a lot of options as opposed to just beef ribs or a sandwich. What stands out about Dickey’s is they absolutely love what they do and take great care to keep their barbecue recipes fresh and exciting.

Over the years, the BBQ menu at Dickey’s has been expanding at a pretty fast rate, with the addition of varieties of real turkey breasts, pork steaks and chops, beef-ribs, and house-made sides particularly the mac n cheese and waffle fries. They always look to come up with something to spice up their recipes and add some zest to their smoky meats and sausages with aromatic spices so they can stand out from the pack, and carve their own niche in what is a heavily crowded marketplace. No wonder their smoked meats are a hit among guests, with that right combination of deep flavors, briskets with subtle smoke, classic rosy pink smoke rings, and moist tenderness which often eludes properly smoked meats these days. And the quality of food extends across the menu, even unto the juicy house-made sausages, pickled veggies and fruits, salsa and specially whipped-up sauces.

Visit any Dickey’s bbq joint and you’ll see the team running the show put a lot of time and care into the food and experience so as to make it a memorable experience for the guests visiting. No matter which BBQ dish you feel like tasting, you’ll find a pitmaster working hard to make sure that their briskets come out perfect every time and please your palate. No surprises why Dickey’s has managed to build a bit of reputation for being a restaurant that’s all about connecting people with good food and a great time.

After seventy seven glorious years, the family-owned business continues to impress with its meat magic. With an incredible team at the helm calling the shots, it looks like Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has just about everything it needs to keep the juggernaut rolling for a long time.