Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has launched an optimized menu, reworking their historic offerings after 81 years, to combat food inflation, maintain value to guests and simplify ordering.
The world’s largest barbecue restaurant brand, with their guests and franchisees front of mind, has trimmed the menu back 42 percent to their most traditional barbecue meats and plates, and has added combo meals.
Dickeys collaborated with franchisees on this year-long menu project that “challenged, tested and trialed every part of the menu.” Reductions to the menu were data driven and specifically focused on removing items most impacted by sourcing and inflation as well as specialty items with longer preparation times. Guest preferences were also a guide as the brand “aimed to cut with the precision of a scalpel and the heart of a pit master.”
Some of the most notable menu adjustments include:
- Redesigned menu boards now feature core barbecue offerings like brisket, ribs, kielbasa sausage, pulled pork, chicken and smoked wings as plates and sandwiches, but with fewer specialty sandwiches.
- Guests now have seven combo meal options to choose from for added value.
- Turkey is no longer available year-round due to the continuing supply issues and rising costs. However, Dickey’s will still offer their signature whole smoked and fried turkeys for holiday meals.
- Burnt ends have been removed from the menu and sides were trimmed from 11 side items to seven side items. Fan favorite sides mac and cheese, and fried okra are still available, as well as the popular original hand cut fries.
- All three of the famous, original, sweet and spicy barbecue sauce options will remain on the menu.
- Family packs and Catering will remain on the menu.
“The decision to optimize our menu is a sign of the times. We will always serve the highest quality, pit master prepared Legit Texas barbecue, but we must evolve to stay successful. We needed a sustainable menu with a simplified ordering process, profit protection for franchisees and true value for our loyal guests,” says Laura Rea Dickey, CEO Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. “If necessity is the mother of invention, then challenges are the parents of creativity. The restaurant industry has battled a challenging economy, food inflation, labor shortages and depressed consumer spending. That requires a creative solution to continue our success as the world’s largest barbecue brand. We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive guest response to our optimized menu with folks appreciating the value combos. Franchises are appreciative of seeing higher check averages and rising sales.”
