Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc. announced sales from its catering hotline have surpassed the $6.4 million sales mark. In August 2011, Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc. introduced 1-866-BARBECUE, a national catering hotline that gives guests direct access to live catering experts seven days a week. Today, catering is responsible for 15 percent of overall sales for Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants.

“Since our inception in 2011, we’ve continued to see a significant increase in catering orders across all markets,” says Michelle Sarlls, director of catering sales for Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc. “And, with our store count climbing to 500 by the end of 2014, we anticipate our busiest holiday season yet.”

Dickey’s Barbecue has been in the catering business for over 40 years with services ranging from personal box lunches to full-service buffets for any size event. The fast-casual chain’s most catered events included business luncheons, weddings, and birthdays. Today, the catering department vets over 2,500 calls and on-line inquiries monthly for stores in over 40 states.

“Catering is a great way for our franchisees to create an additional revenue stream,” says Roland Dickey, Jr., CEO of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc.  “Year after year we see incremental growth in our catering segment which varies from both business-to-business and consumer caterings.”