#8 of Top 100 Movers & Shakers

It was a busy but good year for Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. In 2016, it not only opened 87 units but also launched a new menu and formed Dickey’s Capital Group to facilitate future growth. Roland Dickey Jr., who had been serving as the restaurant’s CEO, is now running Dickey’s Capital Group, and the brand’s former CIO, Laura Rea Dickey, took over the CEO title. Renee Roozen, former vice president of operations, was appointed as the first brand president.

The chain also implemented its “No B.S.” (Bad Stuff) campaign in 2016, after execs took a hard look at its proteins and made the move to source ethically and responsibly. Beef brisket is humanely handled and sustainably raised with no additives. Chicken is raised without antibiotics, is cage free and vegetarian fed, and contains no added hormones. There are no nitrates or nitrites in Dickey’s sausages and no artificial colors or flavors in any of the brand’s pork products, for example. Dallas-based Which Wich Superior Sandwiches has created a strategy to achieve tremendous growth both in terms of locations and revenue in upcoming years. With a recent opening in London, the 511-unit brand, which opened 54 locations in 2016, plans to open 50 domestic and 20 international locations by the end of the year. Proving that it’s not just “another sandwich concept”, Which Wich differentiates itself, CEO Jeff Sinelli said, by providing customizable.

While Dickey’s enhanced menu kept many of the brand’s classics, it also now incorporates tacos, sliders and Smoke Stacks, a combination of a side and a meat in one easy-to-carry container. The new menu, however, wasn’t a strain on owner/ operators, Laura Rea Dickey said. It required them to add only one item to food orders. Dickey’s, known in the industry as a leader in tech, is experimenting with sensor and beaconing technology to help stores operate more efficiently by reducing waste and ensuring operational standards. Beacon technology will enable curbside pickup of to-go orders without the guests ever leaving their vehicles, Laura Rea Dickey said.

From Fast Casual