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IN THE NEWS

<div><a href="http://hospitalitytechnology.edgl.com/news/Bridging-the-Tech-Divide-with-Data107346" target="_blank">Hospitality Technology</a> published a great article on Laura Rea Dickey, and the article made it on the front cover of the magazine!</div><div> </div><div>Prefacing a business with “third generation, family-run,” implies a certain level of success on the basis of longevity alone. Endurance doesn’t come without effort however, and as it turns out, a healthy dose of innovation. This is certainly true of Dallas-based Dickey’s Barbecue Pit (www.dickeys.com), the 75-year-old brand that established itself by “taking barbecue mainstream” amassing legions of loyal diners nationwide along the way.</div><div> </div><div>The company prides itself on maintaining its tradition of slow smoking all meats on-site and fiercely clings to homespun perks like kids eating free on Sundays. The strategy has proven to be effective for the fast casual concept, growing to more than 560 locations across 43 states and even being recognized by Technomic as the “fastest growing restaurant chain in the country.”</div><div> </div><div>Today, Dickey’s Barbecue is celebrating 75 years in business, and out of its open and operating 560+ locations, six are corporate stores and the rest are franchised. Many of those franchisees have owned and operated stores for more than 20 years, and as Laura Rea Dickey, CIO, acknowledges, there is a lot of wonderful opportunity and brand foundation that comes with that — especially when it comes to continuing the authenticity for which Dickey’s prides itself.</div><div> </div><div>“In that strength however, comes weakness,” she admits. “We have stores that literally have had to make the evolution from a calculator to a non-Internet POS all the way to today with cloud-based and digital technologies.”</div><div> </div><div>Technology — and more specifically data — has proven to be integral to the growth and success of Dickey’s and its franchisees. One of the main challenges facing the brand was what Dickey describes as an ocean of disparate technologies. The goal — and challenge — was how to close the gap in establishing a universal technology platform and how to roll that technology out to the business. Dickey admits that, while maintaining the authenticity of the brand through its barbecue was vital, when it came to technology there “was no sacred cow” (pun intended). &nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div> </div><div>The brand was in a period of heavy growth during 2008 when Dickey and her colleagues began strategic planning. By 2010, they had devised a six-year roadmap with one of the major focuses being technology.&nbsp;</div><div> </div><div>“We had done a lot of internal analysis to identify what technology we wish we had going into certain challenges, and we concluded that while we had adequate technology, we were not cutting-edge,” Dickey explains. “That was a true turning point for us. We realized that we had evolved in other ways, but we weren’t innovating with technology. We were continuing to patch and scale what we had which was supplemented with a lot of analog, data entry and very siloed ways of handling technology, information and communications.” &nbsp;</div><div> </div><div>Data first, the rest to follow</div><div>One of Dickey’s first priorities was to meet the needs of owner/operators while pulling laggards up to parity as the restaurant landscape has advanced.</div><div> </div><div>“It was necessary to identify standards, not only for hardware and software, but for operating procedures as well,” Dickey says. “We knew we wanted to work towards a universal platform, but we had to identify what we needed first – and we decided the most important component was data collection.”</div><div> </div><div>Data collection was the restaurant’s first choice because it wanted to be POS provider agnostic. In order to do that, Dickey and her team knew they needed to normalize data collection.</div><div> </div><div>“Our first big strategic initiative, outside of identifying challenges, was to create a platform that collects all of our data; then we can manage what can hook into that platform from online ordering and loyalty to our POS provider,” Dickey explains. “We wanted to have data that was usable, actionable, and that would move at the speed of business so that we could spend time on analysis rather than data gathering.” &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div> </div><div>To accomplish this, Dickey’s looked to its internal team to custom develop a system with technology partners to meet those larger objectives while being as easy to digest as possible for all levels of technological savviness. &nbsp;</div><div> </div><div>“We wanted something that would be palatable for all our owner/operators,” Dickey stresses, recalling that getting buy-in from all franchisees was one of the biggest challenges. “Explaining to operators why they would want to adopt change and migrate from paper to digitized forms, when they’ve operated successfully for 70+ years without them, was definitely an undertaking,” Dickey recalls. “That’s why having a long-term roadmap was so important, to show them that we had thought this through and the reasons we need to make this change.”</div><div> </div><div>Dickey’s in-house development team partnered with big data and intelligence service providers in order to develop the proprietary system that would become known as Smoke Stack. Dickey’s in-house team worked with business intelligence (BI) and data warehouse solutions provider iOLAP Inc.(www.iolap.com) and combined data integration software from Syncsort (www.syncsort.com) with a BI platform from Yellowfin (www.yellowfinbi.com) and Amazon Redshift (aws.amazon.com/redshift) for data warehousing.</div><div> </div><div>Smoke Stack is an advanced analytics solution that uses big data and cloud-platform technology for flexibility and to minimize ongoing resource requirements. Now Dickey’s is able to pull information from numerous sources through the reporting system and easily manage that data. Dickey explains that the first priority was starting with data that operators and managers needed to engage with most — operations analytics including: KPIs, sales data, inventory, etc. The next step was to parlay that into marketing and consumer data.</div><div> </div><div>A key piece of the data platform is BOSS (Barbecue Operations Support System), the management piece of software that Dickey’s built internally and uses to run the overall business. BOSS is an independent reporting system that flows into Smoke Stack in the same way that back-of-house and POS data is pulled in through different API connections.</div><div> </div><div>“The next piece of the puzzle in the roadmap was to get everyone reporting in the same way,” Dickey says. “We needed to gather data from all different points of contact, take all that structured data and improve reports, while taking all unstructured or siloed data and pulling that into the analytics systems as well.”</div><div> </div><div>Dickey’s in-house team developed a reporting agent that pulls data from the back-of-house computer through an API into Smoke Stack. Data is being gathered every 15 minutes offering a real-time look at the business through reports in the company’s analytics system. In addition to operations, POS and online ordering data, API connections were also created to pull in data from partners such as Spendgo(www.spendgo.com) &nbsp;for loyalty and Fishbowl (www.fishbowl.com) for digital marketing.</div><div> </div><div>Taking action with analytics</div><div>Gathering data was only the first part of the challenge, the next initiative was establishing ways for the team to easily see and understand the information in order to make better business decisions in a timely fashion.</div><div>&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div>“We have store level and corporate level dashboards, so when an operator logs into Smoke Stack they have access to all of those KPIs that we’re pulling in through the back of house agent,” Dickey says. “Whether they are on- or offsite we can give them sales information and reconcile that to inventory levels.”</div><div> </div><div>Managers can also go into the marketing dashboard and get a snapshot of brand and reputation management. This offers insight into current Spendgo members, media buy, plus sentiment analysis on Yelp reviews from Fishbowl. &nbsp;With this tool, managers are able to match operations with marketing in order to see what is resonating with customers.</div><div> </div><div>From a marketing standpoint, data is addressed in two ways. First, managers are able to change known brand initiatives including media and long-term objectives by listening to feedback from customers and coupling that with sales data and intuition. Secondly, data can be used to personalize offers to customers, drilling down to an individual customer or store to see what offers are most effective. Smoke Stack allows Dickey’s to enhance customer profiles to be more robust and “meet them where they are” through appropriate digital media.</div><div> </div><div>“Data drives those decisions, it doesn’t dictate it,” Dickey says. “There are certain things you have to have history and judgement to make decisions about.”</div><div> </div><div>From a corporate level, Dickey believes that having a line of sight into the franchisee level is an opportunity to help individual locations and ultimately the brand as a whole. She explains that Smoke Stack’s dashboards have realigned how the operations and marketing teams function every day in order to achieve this.</div><div> </div><div>“We are now metrics-based and data-driven in our decisions and our sales-driving efforts and that’s how we manage operations,” Dickey says.</div><div> </div><div>She explains that field directors and operations managers spend the first hour of every day reviewing reports and then gathering for a call to go over the results and identify areas of opportunity or focus. Smoke Stack has significantly reduced the amount of labor that used to be required just to amass data. Dickey and her team now can devote more time to analytics and action.</div><div> </div><div>The collaboration of Smoke Stack and BOSS allows Dickey’s to take operations, marketing and back-of-house behavior data to give the company a robust perspective into what is happening at stores. While data is a central component, Dickey warns that it is not a silver bullet.</div><div> </div><div>“Data isn’t magic, it’s like any other business resource you have,” Dickey says. “If you use it efficiently and effectively you will yield amazing, efficient and effective results. If you don’t and if the data isn’t actionable, and if IT is just a delivery mechanism or tactic and not part of your overall strategy, then your data is going to be worthless.”</div>

Hospitality Technology: Bridging the Tech Divide with Data

<a href="http://www.fastcasual.com/news/dickeys-bbq-celebrates-75th-anniversary/" target="_blank">Fast Casual</a> helped Dickey's celebrate our 75th anniversary!&nbsp;<hr id="[object Object]">Dickey's Barbecue Pit is celebrating its 75th anniversary throughout the month of October. Throughout the duration of the celebration, guests can purchase a limited edition cup as well as participate in a variety of specials. Additionally, the barbecue concept is offering social media giveaways to two guests each week, including free barbecue for a year, according to a release. "The Dickey family is proud of our legacy of serving authentic, Texas-style barbecue for three generations. We look forward to many more years of expansion throughout the nation and the world," says Roland Dickey Jr., CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants Inc, in a release.

Dickey's Barbecue Celebrates 75th Anniversary

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Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
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mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Dickey’s
Barbecue Pit celebrated 75 years on WFAA’s <a href="http://www.wfaa.com/entertainment/television/programs/good-morning-texas/dickeys-barbecue-pit-celebrates-75-delicious-years/333948748">Good
Morning Texas</a> last week! Mr. Dickey and Roland Dickey, Jr. shared the
history of Dickey’s and how we grew to be the nation’s largest barbecue chain!&nbsp;

WFAA Good Morning Texas: Dickey's Barbecue Pit Celebrates 75 Delicious Years

Noozhawk posted about the Goleta, CA opening, <a href="https://www.noozhawk.com/article/bizhawk_dickeys_barbecue_pit_opens_goleta" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp;<hr id="[object Object]">BizHawk is published weekly, and includes items of interest to the business community. Share your business news, including employee announcements and personnel moves, by emailing news@noozhawk.com. The long-awaited Dickey’s Barbecue Pit opened its door to Goletans on Sept. 29, becoming the latest in a seemingly endless stream of businesses and restaurants to open in the city’s recently finished Hollister Village shopping center at 7000 Hollister Ave. The establishment is also the latest in a line of over 500 Dickey’s across the county. The family-owned Dallas, Texas-based chain, founded in 1941, has another Santa Barbara County location at 2212 S. Bradley Road in Santa Maria. Dickey’s menu revolves around slow-smoked meats, but also offers sandwiches, sides, stuffed baked potatoes and salads. The restaurant fits its location well given the shortage of barbecue establishments in the area, said Gary Chhina, the restaurant’s new owner. “There’s going to be a line if you come for dinner or lunch,” he said. “The staff is really friendly; we’re guest-first.” Chhina, who has several years’ experience in the fast-casual dining industry, was 22 when he reached out to Dickey’s about starting his own franchise, and “they welcomed me with open arms.” Now 23, Chhina told Noozhawk he’s working on opening another Dickey’s in downtown Santa Barbara in the coming months. As part of four weeks of giveaways and deals, the restaurant announced that three patrons can receive free barbecue for a year by ordering online, signing up for its loyalty club or using the hashtag #1FreeYearofBBQ on any social media page. For the next two Thursdays, the first 50 customers can have a free taste of its Buffalo and Bleu Butcher Taco, Dickey’s announced, and uniformed first responders will receive 50 percent off meals on Fridays. Radius Commercial Real Estate acquires Hagelis Group in Ventura Santa Barbara-based Radius Commercial Real Estate announced this week that it has acquired Hagelis Group, a Ventura-based retail firm. Hagelis co-founders Linda and Bill Hagelis will become senior vice presidents with their firm’s new parent company, Radius said in a statement. The acquisition marks the company’s second considerable expansion in the last year, it said, after the firm added business brokering services and a ranch, vineyard and agriculture division in 2015. Acquiring Hagelis gives Radius a valuable foothold in Ventura County, and “is expected to give investors and tenants more access and options throughout the Tri-Counties” region, Radius said. Santa Barbara McDonald’s franchises sold Dave Peterson, the longtime owner of several South Coast McDonald’s franchises, has sold his four Santa Barbara locations in a transaction completed Oct. 1. Peterson’s family opened the 1,103rd McDonald’s decades ago at 146 S. Fairview Ave. in Goleta, which he will remain owner of along with the one in Goleta’s Camino Real Marketplace. The four locations Peterson sold are located at 3940 State St., 1213 State St., 1906 Cliff Dr. and 29 N. Milpas St. Peterson told Noozhawk handing off most of his establishments will allow him to spend more time with his friends and family and “see what else I can do with my life.” He’s grateful to the community for the opportunity for his family and staff to work here, he said. Groundbreaking ceremony set for Rosewood Miramar Beach Montecito Caruso Affiliated, the developers behind the 16-acre “ultra-luxury” Rosewood Miramar Beach Montecito resort, will break ground on their long-awaited project at 11 a.m. Monday. Slated to open during the summer of 2018, the oceanfront development on South Jameson Lane will offer 161 guestrooms in the forms of one-story cottages and bungalows. The resort’s amenities will include a signature restaurant, an oceanfront restaurant and bar, two swimming pools, a spa, a fitness center and a 6,000-square-foot ballroom. Caruso Affiliated, led by prominent Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso, bought the property in 2007 and is the third owner since the original Miramar Beach Hotel closed in 2000. Caruso raised more than $200 million to finance the project before demolishing the original buildings in 2012. The project received final approval in April 2015. — Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

Noozhawk:BizHawk: Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Opens in Goleta

QSR posted <a href="https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/dickeys-opening-four-new-stores-southern-california" target="_blank">this</a> about the four new stores scheduled to open in California.&nbsp;<hr id="[object Object]">Dickey's Barbecue Pit continues to grow throughout California, with an increased store count that is second only behind its home state of Texas. The first of four new stores will open in spring 2017 in Foothill Ranch. Two in Irvine and one in Mission Viejo are to follow. The four new locations are included in a development agreement between Dickey's and new franchisee Scott Cole. "We congratulate Scott Cole on his four-store development agreement," says Roland Dickey Jr., CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Pit. "We are growing rapidly in California, and we are very proud to continue opening new locations to serve Texas-style barbecue to the people of California." Scott Cole has called Orange County home his entire life. While spending the beginning of his professional career in business development, he decided it was time to have a business of his own. Born and raised in California, the people, food and culture of the Golden State is nothing new to him so when it came time to start a business he knew that the restaurant industry was the way to go. Cole, along with his wife Susan were eager to start out on a new adventure by opening their own franchise together. After doing extensive research, the Coles found a home with Dickey's Barbecue. "I researched a variety of brands and chose Dickey's because I just love the food," Cole says. "Now I look forward to becoming a part of the Dickey's family and serving great barbecue to my community." Among his love for Dickey's authentic slow-smoked Texas barbecue, Cole saw that there was a void in the market for a fast casual barbecue restaurant. "In Texas, there is a barbecue place on every corner, and we just don't have that here," Cole says.

QSR: Dickey's Opening Four New Stores in Southern California

The Hanford Sentinel posted a great article about this event, <a href="http://hanfordsentinel.com/news/local/local-agencies-kick-off-lunch-with-a-cop/article_6dbea4dc-fcf2-59cd-9949-ae790530200a.html" target="_blank">here</a>! You can also check out the photos from it, <a href="http://hanfordsentinel.com/gallery/lunch-with-a-cop/collection_4b3669fc-56b2-5459-a040-b45d4c1900e4.html#1" target="_blank">here</a>! <hr id="[object Object]">HANFORD – Getting to know local law enforcement officers can be as easy as having a cup of coffee or taking in a plate of barbecued ribs. Earlier this year, local area law enforcement agencies took part in the national Coffee with a Cop initiative, which aims to help improve relationships between officers and citizens through casual meet and greets instead of waiting to interact with them only during emergencies or emotional situations. In May, Coffee with a Cop was hosted at the Hanford Starbucks on Lacey Boulevard. Wednesday, the program was extended to Lunch with a Cop, with officers from the area meeting with community members for lunch at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in Hanford. Plenty of people packed in for the two-hour lunch with local radio station KFUN (92.5) broadcasting live from the event. Officers came from the Hanford and Lemoore police departments, the Kings County Sheriff’s office and other agencies.&nbsp; Hanford Police Chief Parker Sever, who was in attendance, said events like Wednesday are a good way for community members to ask questions they would feel hesitant to if they didn’t feel comfortable going down to the police station. “It’s just a good informal way to get to meet people and ask us different questions you have,” Sever said. “People get to see we’re not statues and that you can talk to us.” Sever said questions he gets are often about updates on local gang activity or what can be done about a speeder on their street. He also takes the opportunity to let people know his support of Measure K, which is on the November ballot and is a sales tax measure that would help fund public safety. It fell just a couple dozen votes short on the June ballot. With various professional athletes currently protesting recent police shootings by kneeling during the national anthem, Sever said he’s only received backing from community members. “Since Sept. 11, we’ve gotten nothing but support from the community,” Sever said. Sever said more events like Wednesday are planned with the hopes that it can happen every few weeks to give the people in the community more chances to come out. Sever said plans are to hopefully have the events at different restaurants each time. "It's just a good time," he said.

The Hanford Sentinel: Local agencies kick off Lunch with a Cop

<a href="http://www.kansas.com/entertainment/restaurants/dining-with-denise-neil/article104410656.html" target="_blank">The Wichita Eagle</a> posted this article about an upcoming store opening!&nbsp;<hr id="[object Object]">If you frequent the intersection of 21st and Greenwich, your life is about to get a lot tastier. Three anticipated new restaurants should be open there by early November. Here’s a rundown of the latest: Lola’s Bistro, 2146 N. Collective Lane: The pretty new sign is now up on Michael Abay’s long-awaited bistro at Soho Plaza within the Collective at East 21st and K-96, and people who’ve seen it are getting excited. Abay said he’s still waiting on a some key pieces of equipment but should start hiring staff in the next couple of weeks. He hopes to have a soft opening within four to six weeks. The restaurant will serve new American cuisine with French, Italian, Asian and Filipino flavors. Stay tuned for an update. Dickey’s Barbecue Pit , 2244 N. Greenwich: Construction workers were busy this morning hammering away on the second location of Dickey’s Barbecue Pit at the Village at Greenwich development. The sign is up on the restaurant, which should be open by mid-October. The first Wichita Dickey’s opened in October 2014 at 2768 N. Maize Road. Meddys: Just a few doors north at Village at Greenwich, a second location of Meddys also is about ready to go. As I reported last week, owner Alex Harb has had to push the opening date to Oct. 4 because of heating and air conditioning installation delays. He now has a banner on the front of the restaurant with the correct opening date. The new Meddys will have the same Mediterranean and Lebanese-inspired menu as the original, which opened at 7906 E. Harry in September 2014, but it will have several upgrades.

The Wichita Eagle: Wichita about to get three new eateries near 21st and Greenwich

<a href="https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/dickey-s-barbecue-pit-introduces-frank-bean-tacos" target="_blank">QSR </a>featured Dickey's new Frank &amp; Beans Tacos!<hr id="[object Object]">
 
 Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is launching Frank &amp; Bean Tacos in the month of October, catering to those of us who live on a diet of never-ending tacos as well as those who are looking for a new take on classic flavors. For the entire month of October, Dickey’s will be changing the taco game again with its newest Frank &amp; Bean Taco. The new taco is the barbecue brand’s newest limited time offer, following several months of pioneering new flavor combinations wrapped in a corn or flour tortilla. The Frank &amp; Bean Taco will feature Jalapeño Cheddar Kielbasa with Barbecue Beans, wrapped in a flour tortilla, and served with a side of taco sauce. The promotion begins October 1, and will last throughout the month. The tacos can be added on to any order in-store, online or as a catering. Guests are able to order two tacos for $3 or three tacos with one side and a Big Yellow Cup for $8.50. “Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has always served authentic, Texas-style barbecue, but now we are also adding some fun new ways to enjoy our classic flavors,” says Roland Dickey Jr., CEO of Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

QSR: Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Introduces Frank & Bean Tacos

FOX 40 in Sacramento did a great segment featuring Dickey's new tacos and 'No B.S.' initiative. Watch the segment, <a href="http://fox40.com/2016/09/22/the-best-barbecue-in-town/" target="_blank">here</a>!&nbsp;<hr id="[object Object]">Dickey's Barbecue is very well known in the Sacramento area region as some of the best barbecue you can get your hands on. &nbsp;Ribs, pulled pork, chicken, sliders, tacos, and more await. &nbsp;Head into a Dickey's Barbecue near you for some delicious food.&nbsp;

FOX 40: The Best Barbecue in Town

<a href="http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2016-09-24/texas-tea-owner-looks-add-some-main-dishes" target="_blank">Amarillo Globe News</a> featured the opening of a new Dickey's in Amarillo, TX<hr id="[object Object]">Amarillo entrepreneur Justin Howe has several successful local businesses in his portfolio already, and his next planned venue is to open the first Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in the Texas Panhandle. The business undertaking is called Amarillo Barbecue Investment Group, which is shooting for a March 1 opening. Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is currently under construction in the new Winpark Place strip center near Hillside Road and South Bell Street. Dickey’s is a Dallas-based restaurant chain that was founded in 1941 and has more than 560 locations in 43 states. Its menu features brisket, pulled pork, spicy cheddar sausage, smoked turkey, buttery rolls and a variety of sides. Howe’s previous business ventures include granite fabricator Adobe Walls Stoneworks, concrete contractor ProCrete Construction, aircraft management and sales company Go-Time Aviation and the Texas Tea water and ice enterprise that was born in 2009 and has grown to two locations in the city. The next step for Howe could be a marriage of those barbecue joints with his Texas Tea ideas. “We’re going to franchise Texas Tea at some point in the future,” said Howe, 38. “We get multiple franchise requests every week.” The only problem, he said, is his inexperience with what it takes to run franchises that become successful. He actually plans to open a total of three Dickey’s locations in the Amarillo area in the next two years, and he believes that alone will provide answers. “I don’t know anything about the franchise model,” Howe admitted, “so Dickey’s is going to teach me a lot about franchising this Texas Tea concept.” Along with that, Howe has a full-time real estate developer on his payroll who has scoped out some decent opportunities for that marriage. “If I could put a Dickey’s and a Texas Tea next door to each other, I can take advantage of some corners that I wouldn’t normally be able to afford,” Howe said. As many local food aficionados know, the Texas Tea operation at 6045 S.W. 34th Ave., is next door to Buns Over Texas. As previously reported by the Amarillo Globe-News, Howe said sales at Buns improved as much as 20 percent six months after the restaurant added flavored teas. Kim and Gary Hutchens, Howe’s mother and stepfather, own Buns Over Texas. Howe said he bought into the partnership with Dickey’s after being impressed by the company’s business model and the introduction of its fourth-generation prototype eatery that took out about a third of its space. “This is a 2,000-square foot store,” Howe said. “To get a smaller fast-casual concept that’s not a huge big multimillion dollar piece of real estate and a big multimillion dollar fancy building is attractive to me.” The 4G prototype eliminates the need for fryers, ovens and ranges, and offers a pared-down menu that still includes eight meats and 12 vegetables. Howe expects the first Dickey’s to seat just under 100 customers and employ about 15 people. “We’re not under the impression that we’re going to go in here and kill it ‘just because,’” Howe said. “It’s about quality and consistency and proving to these customers that you’ve got what it takes.” That’s something he said his family’s Buns Over Texas brand has achieved over the years. “We’ve been in business since 1989, and sales are on the way up,” Howe said. “It’s not easy, but it’s definitely possible.”

Amarillo Globe News: Texas Tea owner set to open Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in Amarillo

Check out the segment about new menu options at Dickey's on Good Day Sacramento <a href="http://gooddaysacramento.cbslocal.com/video/category/spoken-word-good-day/3549577-healthy-options-at-dickeys/" target="_blank">here</a>!&nbsp;

Good Day Sacramento: Healthy Options at Dickey's

CW 33 covered Battle of the Pitmasters this weekend in Dallas! See how great the event was <a href="http://cw33.com/2016/09/17/local-law-enforcement-and-fire-departments-face-off-in-barbecue-battle/" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp;<hr id="[object Object]">DALLAS -- It ain't barbecue, if there ain't smoke. And there was plenty of smoke at the barbecue cook-off put on by Barbecue, Boots, and Badges, &nbsp;the charitable arm of Dickey's Barbecue Pit. Any excuse is a good excuse for a little barbecue, but the main event here pitted first responders against each other in the ultimate king of the grill showdown, "Battle of the Pitmasters.” Teams of police officers and firefighters battled it out in hopes of becoming the best in brisket, pork, and ribs. "We have a competitive spirit, it’s a good spirit because we are in the same brotherhood, same people that pay them, they pay us. The only difference is we think a little bit quicker than they do,” laughed, Willie Range, Dallas Fire Department Chaplain. With over ten thousand dollars in cash and prizes, celebrity chef Myron Mixon judging the food and craft beer, charity never tasted so good. "We truly feel Dickey's is a part of our fire department family and our law enforcement family; they've taken great care of us,” says Terry, from The Plano Fire Rescue. Funds from the event will be given to local heroes and their families in time of need as a thank you for putting their lives on the line every day. "Often times when they are wounded and out of work for a long time it can be a bad situation for the families we're here to provide a safety net for them,” says Vice President of Dickey’s Restaurants, Maurine Dickey. As they say, anyone can put heat to the meat, but only few can barbecue.<div> </div>

CW 33: Local Law Enforcement and Fire Departments Face off in Barbecue Battle

<a href="http://www.guidelive.com/photos/2016/09/18/photos-battle-pitmasters-serves-delicious-slow-smoked-showdown" target="_blank">Guide Live</a>, Dallas Morning News' entertainment page, covered Battle of the Pitmasters in Dallas!&nbsp;<hr id="[object Object]">On Saturday, pit master teams let loose on a tasty competition at NorthPark Center in Dallas. Hosted by Barbecue, Boots &amp; Badges (of Dickey's Barbecue Pit), the event brought teams of first responders together to raise money and awareness for their families in times of need.The event, which coincided with the 75th anniversary of Dickey's, also featured raffle giveaways, a silent auction, live music, food trucks and much more. The main attraction, 'The Battle of the Pitmasters,' offered more than $10,000 in cash and prizes. The winners:Grand Champion: Last Supper BBQ Smokers from the Tarrant County Sheriff's OfficeReserve Champion: Coppell Richardson Firefighter's AssociationPeople's Choice: Tim Buck Cue from the Plano Fire Department

Guide Live: Photos: Battle of the Pitmasters serves up a delicious and slow-smoked showdown

Check out this<a href="http://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/operations/technology/whats-next-big-data" target="_blank"> Restaurant Business</a> post about what is next in 'Big Data' for Dickey's!<hr id="[object Object]">At first glance, the manager appears to be talking to himself. Into thin air, he asks what yesterday’s sales were. But then an answer comes, in a computerized voice from a speaker. That’s the vision Laura Rea Dickey has for the Dickey’s Barbecue Pit of the future. “We want to take our system back to its original purpose—to have data really usable for folks who are not data analysts,” she says. “Instead of carrying around a tablet, you’ll simply call out.” She’s also trying gadgets that can hook into Dickey’s data. A scale transmits the weight of each order to compare with how much was sold at the register. A sensor in the walk-in sends an alert if meat was not rubbed or marinated at the right time. Smart appliances are the next evolution for many chains. Columbia, S.C.-based Groucho’s Deli plans to put in beacons. The tiny transmitters will search any app-using customer’s profile and send an individualized marketing message. “By tracking their data, we can ... increase their add-on sales,” says Franchise President Deric Rosenbaum. A more futuristic use of data is computer simulation. At Cava Grill, Josh Patchus takes records from a particular store on a given day and calculates what might have happened if the store had had more workers, or fewer. The goal is to find optimum levels for every occasion. “We run a high volume of ‘What If?’ scenarios,” Patchus says. “Managers get a sense of what staffing should be at a certain time.” In recent years, McDonald’s has pushed simulations into overdrive. According to reports, at its Innovation Center in Romeoville, Ill., it has constructed digital models of individual stores. The virtual Golden Arches are based on a mix of data, from sales to local demographics, as well as from video shot inside and out. Software picks apart guests’ behaviors in drive-thru lanes and diners’ paths as they move from door to counter to seat. A franchisee can go online to view a model of his store, then play with possible changes. He can add a drive-thru lane to project how many extra cars he’ll be able to serve. Or he can see which layout gets the most diners through with the shortest waits. McDonald’s did not respond to RB’s interview requests for this story. But in a 2012 presentation, its research and innovation director said, “We use storytelling to let them know what they should be investing in to improve the capacity of their restaurants.”

Restaurant Business: WHAT'S NEXT IN BIG DATA?

<a href="http://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/menu/standout-dishes?utm_source=Marketing%20Cloud&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=RB_Alert_09-17-2016" target="_blank">Restaurant Business</a> released their 50 Standout Dishes of 2016 and Dickey's very own, Westerner made the list!&nbsp;<hr id="[object Object]">Barbecued brisket and sausage combine in Dickey’s sandwich, The Westerner, which is seeing strong sales for its perceived value and signature flavors. For a custom sandwich, guests can pick any two meats.

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