Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. continues to innovate and redefine the barbecue experience with the opening of a completely redesigned concept store in Dallas, and plans to roll out nationwide with all future locations. The model features a modern, rustic, technology-driven experience while offering the same authentic, slow-smoked barbecue that Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has been known for over the last 74 years.
From the design and décor to square footage and improved efficiencies, the location based in Dallas at 2525 Wycliff Avenue Suite 130 is now open. Many existing Dickey’s Barbecue Pit locations will also be retrofitted with aspects of the new model. The redesign features a holistic sensory experience, from décor made largely of sustainably sourced, reclaimed wood to the handcrafted design elements highlighting Dickey’s history on the walls paired with a specially curated Texas singer/songwriter playlist heard from a Bose surround sound speaker system. The new design showcases an open kitchen floor plan so that guests have full visibility into where and how their high quality meals are smoked on site. A custom glass butcher case displays fresh meats behind the cashier while the pit sits directly behind the block, where Dickey’s seven featured meats are pit-smoked low and slow daily on-site, in a real hickory wood pit, unlike much of the competition.
“We are barbecue artisans and it was time to create a more modern take on the traditional Dickey’s experience—it was the natural evolution of the brand,” says Roland Dickey, Jr. CEO of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc. “From the front to back-of-house we’ve made the entire model more efficient while reinvigorating the guest experience with a trendy, high-energy environment. Guests have access to free Wi-Fi and electrical outlets at our dining tables,” he says. “In addition, the menu has been streamlined, now with seven slow-smoked meats and eight home-style sides down from eight meats and 12 sides including new items such as Asiago cheese creamed spinach.”
The concept was also built on a “lean and mean” model from an operational standpoint with owner-operator feedback taken into consideration during the design phase to maximize profitability. The new footprint has been reduced to a mere 1,500 square feet from 2,000-plus without losing a single dining room seat— an appealing feature for current and future franchisees. The pit will not require a gas hook up and will run off of a proprietary blend of hickory wood pellets instead of wood logs, also a cost savings. With the opening of the new concept store and beyond, the Dickey’s Team continues to focus on researching the science behind more health-conscious, sustainable, and eco-friendly ways to source meats and other products. What hasn’t changed is the same quality Dickey’s family recipes handed down for generations coupled with the same brand of southern hospitality.
“With our concept store, we hope to attract a new audience who hasn’t yet experienced Dickey’s while making sure we continue to attract our loyal guests who have been coming to Dickey’s for our signature barbecue for years. We can’t wait to help our owner-operators open new and current locations under the newly redesigned concept store. We know our guests and franchisees alike will be thrilled with the new Dickey’s Barbecue Pit experience,” Dickey says.
