Smokin - Dickey's barbecue pit is on a serious growth track with their humble beginnings in mind

Dickey's barbecue pit is on a serious growth track with their humble beginnings in mind. Since 1941, the Dickey family have combined their hankering for legit Texas Barbecue™ with business acumen and a love of giving back and have grown from a single rib shack by the railroad tracks to the largest barbecue chain in the world.

Serious pitmasters know there’s no shortcut to true barbecue. And the very serious pitmasters at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit also know there’s no shortcut to real success. Since 1941, the Dickey family have combined their hankering for legit Texas Barbecue™ with business acumen and a love of giving back and have grown from a single rib shack by the railroad tracks to the largest barbecue chain in the world.

The trains are long gone now, replaced by Dallas’ Central Expressway, but the original Dickey’s remains. (While the company is largely a franchise organization, the family still owns and operates 10 sites.)

“Our headquarters is right across the freeway from our first location, and we get to see it every day,” said Roland Dickey Jr., Chief Executive Officer of Dickey’s Capital Group, the holding company of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. Since taking on the role in 2016, he’s led the Dickey organization through years of fast growth and change.

The enterprise currently features over 550 locations across the U.S. and eight other countries. The company’s arrival on the retail scene has also been lucrative; in 2022 Dickey’s boasted their presence in 5,000 stores, and in the two years since they’ve nearly doubled that number.

The third-generation business is as dedicated to keeping the brand in their family as they are keeping Texas barbecue real. “Dickey’s is the hub of our organization and everything else is the spoke, and it’s always there with my business,” Roland said. “My grandfather built a business he loved, and we love that business, too.”