Dickey’s is opening its doors coast to coast with 113 locations now open with 56 more in development.

“We have low price point comfort food, which sells in a bad economy,” Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. president Roland Dickey, Jr. says. “Some customers are buying sandwiches when they used to buy platters, so the check average went down a little bit. But we are still doing great.”

The company is also selling franchises. Dickey’s achieved a 40 percent franchise growth rate in 2009 and, according to Dickey, the corporate office located in Dallas regularly receives applications for new stores.

“Our progress is surprising to a lot of folks, but it makes sense to us,” Dickey says. “People want to get out of the rat race and own their own business. In turn, these new stores are employing lots of people who otherwise would still be looking for jobs.”

Dickey says that his company has a “proven system that just works.”

“Our Owner/Operators are making a wise investment with us,” he says. “These people will be successful whether they are in Dallas or in Alaska. It is a great feeling to help people stand on their own two feet and become their own boss.”

In 2007, Greg Woloszczuk and his wife, Maureen, opened Dickey’s Barbecue Pits in both Durham and Cary, North Carolina.

Though the popularity of Dickey’s outside the Dallas/Fort Worth area is not as strong, opening Dickey’s was worth the risk, Woloszczuk says.

“From a personal standpoint, we took a leap of faith bringing Dickey’s Barbecue into a new market, but the risk paid off,” the owner says. “We wanted to provide our customers a unique, positive dining experience with great food at a great price. It has been received really well here, and our customers are helping us grow. In turn our continued growth is helping Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants expand.”

Woloszczuk has signed an area developer agreement with the franchisor to open 60 stores over the next 10 years.