Dickey’s Barbecue Pit expanded to the Midwest with four planned locations to open in Traverse City and Kent County, Michigan. The Great Lakes State is currently home to eight Dickey’s locations. The Traverse City store is slated to open by May 2017, and the other three will follow throughout Kent County.
“The residents of Michigan have asked for more Dickey’s Barbecue Pit locations, and we are proud to continue to expand throughout the state,” says Roland Dickey Jr., CEO of Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. “We congratulate Andre Bushell and Loren Akerman on their four-store development agreement.”
Having met in leadership positions at a Fortune 15 company, Andre Bushell and Loren Akerman decided to take their business relationship to the next level in starting a franchising business. Bushell has previous foodservice leadership experience, and the business partners knew they wanted to bring a new restaurant to their area. After researching different concepts, they decided to invest in the largest barbecue chain in the nation because of its track record as a fast growing and innovative franchise model. Having both grown up in economically challenging circumstances, they hope to provide local jobs and be a model of diversity in their community. “We are looking to grow our business even further than these first four stores,” Akerman says. “We hope that our business can provide much needed jobs and economic stability all over Michigan and beyond, and are working intentionally to promote diversity in our business model.”
