Tasty Pit Stop
Dickey’s BBQ Pit opens on Clairemont
Brett Bachman, photos by Andrea Paulseth |
barbecued meat, sandwiches, and sides,
such as mac n cheese, coleslaw, and onion
tanglers (seen above).
Barbecue is an art steeped in tradition, and Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is no different. Started in 1941 by the Dickey family in Dallas, this franchise knows a thing or two about cooking quality meat. They’re bringing their unique style of slow smoked barbecue to Eau Claire; making this the first Dickey’s to open its doors in Wisconsin.
The basic idea behind their food is simple: “Slow smoked, served fast.” By smoking all their meat on site beforehand with hickory wood, they can serve up meals with a subway-esque style, preparing the food right in front of your eyes. Owner Dan Pekol describes the atmosphere as “fast/casual,” with enough speed for people on half hour lunch breaks to come and eat with relative ease, yet fancy enough for a family to stop in for a full service dinner. Every Dickey’s restaurant also features free large pickles and soft serve ice cream, the Eau Claire location being no exception.
Although already open and ready for business, a giant grand opening celebration is set for sometime in early August. Dickey’s has around 160 stores in the nation, with close to 200 set to be operating by the end of the year, making it one of the fastest growing barbecue restaurants of the decade. Management attributes this to the chain’s unique combination of quality and speed, which is hard to find anywhere else.
Decorated in true cowboy fashion, with a few family portraits, the environment has a real rustic feel, which only serves to enhance the dining experience. The menu is fairly easy to understand: there are nine meats that one can choose to place on three different sized buns, or alone on a plate with your choice of 11 sides. If there were a Dickey family specialty, it would surely be the Texas style beef brisket, which is quite hard to find around these parts.
Aside from their dine-in and take-out options, Dickey’s offers a full catering menu that can be used for parties of 10 to more than 100 people, with essentially the same menu as in the store.
