Dickey's Barbecue Pit franchise
2024 filing · September 27, 2024Fewer locations
Dickey's Barbecue Pit at a glance
A fast-casual barbecue restaurant serving slow-smoked meats, sides and catering. At the end of its 2024 fiscal year there were 386 Dickey's Barbecue Pit locations in the US, 377 franchised and 9 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Plano, Texas
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $438K–$529K
- Traditional restaurant, after rent credits
- Franchise fee
- $20,000
- Traditional restaurant; $15,000 for a non-traditional or delivery-carryout restaurant.
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of net sales, paid weekly
- Brand fund
- 3%
- 3% of net sales, paid weekly
- Renewal fee
- $15,000.
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 20 years
- Franchisor financing
- Introductions to lenders
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 386
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 377
- Company-owned
- 9
- Change in 2 years
- −100
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
Support and records
- Lawsuits disclosed
- Yes
- Latest filing
- Sep 27, 2024
- 2024 filing
From Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc’s 2024 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Dickey's Barbecue Pit among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Dickey's Barbecue Pit | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $483,097 | Costs more than 62% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $20,000 | Lower than 89% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 386 | More than 92% of franchises |
How much a Dickey's Barbecue Pit franchise costs
Opening traditional restaurant, after rent credits costs an estimated $437,605 to $528,589. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc, 2024 filing, page 2
Dickey's Barbecue Pit franchise fee
The franchise fee is $20,000, Traditional restaurant; $15,000 for a non-traditional or delivery-carryout restaurant.. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc, 2024 filing, page 22
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of net sales, paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 3% of net sales, paid weekly. |
| Technology Support Fee | Currently between $280 and $304 per month. |
| Transfer | Greater of $15,000 or Dickey’s reasonable costs and expenses. |
| Renewal | $15,000. |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc, 2024 filing, page 24
Other fees as filed, from pages 25–28. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
No figures Dickey's Barbecue Pit does not share sales or profit figures for its locations. Talking to current and former franchise owners is the usual way to learn what a location earns.
Source: Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc, 2024 filing, page 83
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $610K–$1.1M
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
SBA loans to Dickey's Barbecue Pit franchisees
Lenders approved 362 SBA-backed loans for Dickey's Barbecue Pit franchisees from 1994 to 2026, $126.4M in all: 352 7(a) loans and 10 504 loans. Of the 298 that have ended, 203 were paid in full and 95 were charged off (31.9%). The other 64 haven’t ended yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
How Dickey's Barbecue Pit compares
Of the 309 fast food franchises on this site, Dickey's Barbecue Pit is the 202nd cheapest to open and the 48th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Dickey's Barbecue Pit | Typical fast food brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $438K | $353K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $529K | $786K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $20K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 3% | 2% | 2% |
| US locations | 386 | 23 | 21 |
| Closed or left per year | 13.4% | 5.8% | – |
| Change in franchised locations, 2 yrs | −21% | +5.2% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | No | 189 of 309 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 309 brands in fast food franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 475 (−2) | 10 | +20 | −22 |
| 2023 | 459 (−16) | 9 | – | – |
| 2024 | 377 (−82) | 9 | +20 | −102 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating. The outlet years below are the franchisor's fiscal years, which end May 31. Company-owned restaurants are owned by affiliates and joint ventures.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: fast food franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Source: Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc, 2024 filing, page 83
Who owns Dickey's Barbecue Pit?
Dickey's Barbecue Pit franchises are sold by Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. It is a subsidiary of Dickey’s Capital Group, Inc.
From Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc’s 2024 filing, page 10.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on pages 16–22. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | No bankruptcy of the franchisor. Two equipment suppliers to its franchisees, Stanford Sonoma Corp. and ORS.COM, filed for Chapter 11 in April 2023. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc, 2024 filing, litigation on pages 16–22, bankruptcy on page 22
Dickey's Barbecue Pit filings
The figures on this page come from Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc’s 2024 filing, issued September 27, 2024, on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 filing | September 27, 2024 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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