Dickey's Barbecue Pit

1941 to 2017; Early history

In 1941, Travis Dickey founded Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Dallas, Texas. The original location was a bar where Dickey sold barbecue from a pit he built in back.[4] The original location was a family run business with Dickey's wife working the front of the house. The original location was still open as of 2025, making it the longest continuously operating restaurant in Dallas.[4]

Travis Dickey died of a heart attack in 1967 and his son Roland Dickey took over the business. He opened a second and third restaurant in 1968 and 1969. Over the next 25 years, a dozen more locations were opened.[5] The restaurant began franchising in 1994.[6][7] Roland Dickey Jr. was appointed CEO in 2006,[8] and it expanded to over 300 locations by 2013.[4] Beginning in 2008, it added an average of 45 new locations per year, peaking at 564 locations in 2017.[9]

Technomic named Dickey's Barbecue Pit the "Fastest-growing restaurant chain in the country" in 2012.[10] That year, QSR Magazine included Dickey's Barbecue Pit on its list of "Best Franchise Deals."[11] Dickey's Barbecue Pit established The Dickey Foundation (formerly Barbecue, Boots & Badges Foundation[12]), a charity foundation for law enforcement officers and firefighters, in November 2014.[13] Fast Casual included the restaurant on its list of "Top 100 Movers and Shakers: Restaurants" in May 2014.[14]

2018 to present; International expansion

In 2018, the company opened its first international location at the Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[15] 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.[16] The second international location opened in Dubai in March 2019.[17][18]

The first Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Singapore 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.[19] In April 2021, the chain expanded to Japan, starting in Tokyo, with plans to open a restaurant in every major city in the country.[20] 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.[21]

By 2021, it was operating 650 locations in the United States with another 300 locations internationally.[5] In April 2022, the chain expanded into Canada, starting in Edmonton, Alberta.[22]

The chain has seen a number of years of declining sales and shuttered locations, dropping to 385 open restaurants in May 2024 from an apparent high of 571.[23]