Popular Restaurant QUIETLY Closes 100 Locations: California, Utah & Nevada At Risk!

If you’ve been craving a good barbecue sandwich or some slow-smoked brisket and noticed your local spot has disappeared, you're not alone. A well-known barbecue chain has been quietly shutting down locations across the country, leaving fans scratching their heads and scrambling to find the nearest one still standing. From coast to coast, many of these locations have simply gone up in smoke—so what’s going on?

WHAT RESTAURANT IS CLOSING ALL OVER?

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, once a major player in the BBQ game, has been quietly shrinking its footprint in the U.S. Over the last few years, they’ve shut down a significant number of their restaurants. Back in 2018, Dickey’s closed 113 locations, and in 2024, they shut the doors on 97 more, which was 20% of their remaining restaurants. Utah is down to just 2 locations, Nevada has 4 left, and California, which was hit the hardest, has only 31 locations hanging on. Most recently, Fresno, California, saw its Dickey’s BBQ Pit close for good.

HOW ARE THEY GOING TO SAVE THE REMAINING RESTAURANTS?

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has been making some major changes to keep the fires burning at their remaining restaurants. Here's how they’re fighting back:

• Tripling the field operations team: More boots on the ground to help stores run smoothly.
• Adding area operations teams: They’ve created specialized teams to work inside restaurants and improve daily performance.
• New financial operations team: A group dedicated to reviewing each store’s finances to keep things afloat.
• Franchisee advisory committees: Operators now have more say in how things are run.
• Flexibility in marketing: Franchisees can now spend marketing dollars more strategically for their local areas.
• Investing in digital sales: The chain has ramped up efforts in online orders and even launched a “white label” delivery service through their own app.

With these changes, Dickey’s is hoping to stop the bleeding—but only time will tell if they can slow down the closures. If you still have a Dickey’s near you, consider grabbing that BBQ while you still can!

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