Dickies BBQ👎

[Steve R.]

Well, at least they are consistent. 😒

[Jerod Broussard]

From the website:

"Get your fill of the best BBQ in Texas. There are many great restaurants in Texas but nobody serves slow-smoked BBQ the way Dickey’s does. Our meats are slow-smoked on site, every night by certified Pit masters, so you can enjoy the most authentic Texas style barbecue!"

I think the nearest is over 1.5hrs from me, but they got 138 locations in Texas.

BBQ is the last thing I'm looking for when eating out.

[MBMorgan]

Same here …

[Panhead John]

"Our meats are slow-smoked on site"…..Gee, all this time I thought everyone just cooked it elsewhere and trucked it into the restaurant! 🙄

[realdocBBQ]

Who certifies someone as a 'pitmaster'? I mean... when you say "certified Pit masters", I think there's gotta be an organization with some standards, and at least a certificate on the wall somewhere... right?

[Santamarina]

A Dickie’s opened up near me a handful of years ago. One day I was picking up a sandwich from a place a couple doors down and decided to peek in and see what it was all about. I’d heard it was good. The people who told me that no longer have barbecue credibility.

It smelled like they put bottled smoke flavor in a diffuser to get the smell in the room.

Fast forward a few years, and I found myself there for a business meeting. Couldn’t turn down free food. What I left with was: for free food it was edible (I’ve definitely had worse!) but I’d never spend my own money to eat there.

[mgaretz]

The Dickies near me closed. I have to be contrary - I always liked their brisket, even a sandwich I had at an airport Dickies (Houston?).

[CHNeal]

They came here several years ago. Hit hard opened 5 I think. Hot garbage. All gone now. Leasing gal brought one to my facility. I told her it wouldn’t last long enough to get the commission paid. It didn’t.
I watched on a Black Friday as every vendor in our food court got their asses kicked with lines out the door but there was no waiting at Dickies! Never met anyone that ever ate at one twice.
I’m guessing they got tossed out of Texas and like rats looked for a dark corner to hide in.

[Panhead John]

I’ll admit it’s been a looong time since I ate at a Dickies, maybe the 80’s or 90’s? Anyway, there’s a Dickies BBQ here in Nederland, Tx. near Mom’s house. This post has piqued my curiosity. In the interest of science and accurate reporting, I’ll go there for lunch today and report back here, complete with pics. I will say this, whenever I’ve driven by there, there’s always been plenty of parking!

[Panhead John]

I’m sure Tony’s is better, I was gonna go to Dickies just to see how bad, or good, it might be.

[realdocBBQ]

Wow, man, talk about falling on the grenade! Way to go PJ!

[58limited]

For those not familiar with the Golden Triangle of Texas, Tony's is the local fast food BBQ chain. Its ok, better than Dickies and actually better than most of the other local places (that is until 1701, Train Wreck, and Charlie's came along in the past few years).

[Texas Larry]

The Dickies we went to in TX (I think Waco) was very disappointing. Not gonna try another one.

[FireMan]

In reference to Sid P , about the parking lot smell thing, he nailed it. There is no smell. They are located in strip malls, little store fronts. I wonder if they even cook at the location & maybe just "heat" things up. Then again, I know nothing but what I see from afar & don’t smell.

[Panhead John]

Yep, this one here is on the corner end of a strip center. Their storefront and signage face a very busy roadway here, Hwy 365. It’s not a "true" Hwy in that sense, but busy nonetheless. Out of all the times I’ve passed by, there’s never been a packed parking lot.

[Jerod Broussard]

I never wanted to own any kind of food establishment, but if I get a franchise worthy paycheck one day, I'll open "NOT like the other Dickie's." And put a Dicks Sporting Goods right next to it.

[Ghawtho]

Opening a restaurant and even stores in a prime location is very expensive. Franchise agreements are well over $20,000 to $40,000+ and just a lot to build on is upwards of $1,000,000+
I’ve noticed Texas Roadhouse is selling established locations already open for $2,500,000+

[Jerod Broussard]

Ghawtho the odds of me getting a franchise worthy check are slim and none, and guess where slim is at?

[FireMan]

Hey, then you could have "Dickies & Dick’s". Has a ring to it.

[Mosca]

The local Dickie’s was in this strip mall, at the far end. That little blank space at the top of the sign was the spot for the Dickie’s sign.




Here is the view from the highway. If you didn’t already know it was there, you’d never know it was there.

[Ghawtho]

@Mosca
I can’t imagine someone spending over 1 million dollars just for them to fail in a short amount of time, yikes!
What a nightmare after spending that kind of money and if the business fails there is no way out but bankruptcy.
Some of those store front leases are $5,000
per month

[Mosca]

Yeah, I agree. Thing is, though, this was a decent lunch. I usually got a pulled pork, side, and a drink. It beat going with a fast food burger and fries. Not every day, but once a week was okay.

[Huskee]

There is (or was?) a Dickie's not too far from me, I've never gone. I kinda figured since it's a chain and looks like an oil change place with its modern block walls with lots of windows, and there's no smoke or smoker anywhere to be seen, that the "BBQ" was the sauce.

[Murdy]

We used to have a chain called Salt Creek BBQ in the area. Never went. I will patronize some of the independent local places, but the last time I went to a BBQ chain was Tony Romo's in the 1980s.

[Ghawtho]

@Huskee
Our local Dickies BBQ definitely has a pellet smoker, my friend let us tour the Dickies restaurant before it opened. The pellet smoker is nice, looking in the thing it has rotating shelves. Very NICE pellet smoker
it’s just they don’t know how to operate it, the owner told me it’s a $20,000 pellet smoker. It would probably produce really GOOD BBQ if they’ll JUSToperate it correctly. Even a TOP notch offset smoker wouldn’t produce good BBQ if not operated / burned correctly.

[Huskee]

Ghawtho My local donut-slash-"BBQ" joint is very popular becasue it's owned by the local police force. It's called Cops & Donuts. They added the BBQ restaurant a few years back, and last I ate there, granted it was several years ago, it was terrible. Bland crock pot pork, the "BBQ" was the sauce. They have a smoker too (supposedly), and you're right, a person can turn out awful BBQ if they don't know how to operate it properly or if they depend on sauce to make it BBQ. Once bitten twice shy.

[klflowers]

There is one here in Chattanooga. I don't eat bbq out anymore unless I am traveling or I get the pulled chicken sandwich from Veterans BNQ (it is pretty good). But I may give it a try so I'll know where not to go lol

[Hulagn1971]

One opened in Greensboro years back. It is now closed. I never tried it because I heard it was not good and was expensive. I also hardly ever go out for bbq. If I do have a hankering for a bbq sandwich I'll stop by Smithfields Chicken 'N Bar-B-Q

https://www.scnbnc.com/

[Ghawtho]

I did like Dickies spicy BBQ sauce and am probably getting a bottle next time am by there. The spicy BBQ sauce is the best thing in there including a plastic drink cup to take home. 😆

[Bob's BBQ]

We had one up in my area of Wisconsin a few years back. It wasn't terrible. I think successful BBQ places make a certain amount of meat per day, do it right, and close when it's gone. I think Dickies trying to stay open all day forces them to cut some corners that affects the finished product (ribs & brisket wrapped in plastic and held in a warmer, for instance). I think trying to do BBQ commercially that way would be difficult. Also I find most places typically under-season. I think they're trying to appease more sensitive tastes assuming the rest of us can add seasoning. Again - for commercial BBQ, not terrible, but not as good as a few extra hours, a little more smoke, and well seasoned.

[Purc]

We have one about 5 minutes from home in the Hurst, Texas area. I have not been because I have never seen more 2 cars in the parking lot. How can they stay in business?

[Ghawtho]

@Purc
First impressions always last well beyond the moment, for a business to be successful someone must be first impressed to return a second time and word of mouth goes a very LONG ways.