Laura Rea Dickey On How Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Thrived
As the CEO, Laura Rea Dickey is focused on expanding the company’s footprint and market share, investing in new technologies to optimize operations, as well as expanding the Dickey’s Barbecue Pit network of nearly 1,000 franchise locations across North America. “To be the best at what you do, you need to do it well, and, at Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, we’re guided by the principles of service, food, people, and franchising,” says Dickey. “We remain committed to creating great food, building vibrant, welcoming restaurants, on Launching a Brand New Restaurant. On top of leading Dickey’s during its most important and vulnerable phase, Rea Dickey has also successfully grown the restaurant’s brand, since its humble beginnings to the powerhouse it is today.
Dickey’s currently operates over 500 restaurants across the US. Dickey’s is the kind of company that thrives under a single head; it’s one of the few BBQ barbecue brands that have a singular founder, Randy who named the brand after his father, Harry, who was the original owner of the original Dickey’s BBQ Pit on Stacy Ln in Dallas, TX. Laura Rea Dickey was born and raised in Texarkana, Texas. It was during her high school days that Dickey’s Barbecue Pit first came to her life when she lived in an apartment complex where her mother owned the land across the street from the restaurant.
As a result of all this exposure to Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, the opportunity was immediately available for Dickey to her exemplary work for the restaurant and so she did. Laura was influenced in her early culinary adventures by her grandmothers, who were both high school cooks. Both grandmothers were at the top of their respective fields, yet her favorite recipe was always the one that Granny made. Her grandmother who owned a food-service business often cooked at work during lunch, so she was naturally introduced to a plethora of traditional Southern fare. Through her grandmother’s influence, she learned to cook with love, not just for those in the house, but for anyone who cared to enjoy the fresh taste of Southern home cooking.