Dickey's Barbecue Pit Restaurants vs Hickory River Smokehouse Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Dickey's Barbecue Pit Restaurants vs Hickory River Smokehouse including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Dickey's Barbecue Pit Restaurants Franchise
Hickory River Smokehouse Franchise
Investment $71,993 - $323,789$400,000 - $800,000
Franchise Fee $20,000$18,000
Royalty Fee 5%4%
Advertising Fee 4%-
Year Founded 19412006
Year Franchised 19942006
Term Of Agreement 20 years-
Term Of Agreement 20 years-
Renewal Fee $10,000-


Business Experience Requirements
 
Dickey's Barbecue Pit Restaurants Franchise
Hickory River Smokehouse Franchise
Experience --

Financing Options
 
Dickey's Barbecue Pit Restaurants Franchise
Hickory River Smokehouse Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees No/Yes-/-
Start-up Costs No/Yes-/-
Equipment No/Yes-/-
Inventory No/Yes-/-
Receivables No/Yes-/-
Payroll No/Yes-/-

Training & Support
 
Dickey's Barbecue Pit Restaurants Franchise
Hickory River Smokehouse Franchise
Training We provide a comprehensive training program at Barbecue University, an intensive four-week training program that teaches the skills needed to open and operate a Dickey's. Barbecue University trainees will spend two weeks in the classroom and two weeks in our training restaurants. In the classroom, trainees will work through the Dickey's Operations Manual and learn from our trainers. Classes consist of lectures, reading, homework assignments, group activities, demonstrations, quizzes and a final exam. Yep, it's class. Spending two weeks in our training stores is an integral part of training as you practice perfecting Dickey's gold standards and demonstrate that you are ready, willing and able to run a Dickey's Barbecue Pit. In addition to the field training sessions, we also provide Dickey's e-Learning, which are online training courses (e.g., Operations, Food Safety, Guest Service and Management training) for our new and existing franchisee community. On-The-Job Training: 90 hours Classroom Training: 50 hours -
Support Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform-
Marketing Our marketing department operates as an in-house advertising agency. We have a creative team, social media, public relations, community marketing, web content, and media buyers on-site to optimize the brand experience at every touch point. Our in-house team has extensive knowledge of the fast casual industry while taking into account the unique culture of barbecue when creating communications. Our franchisees appreciate having our in-house team as brand stewards for Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants and experts in brand marketing efforts. Having in-house capabilities allows us greater flexibility and the ability to turn projects around quickly with cost efficiencies, and most importantly, high-level creative deliverables that produce marketing results. *Advertising agency support *Local field marketing support *Individual marketing/strategic planning Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app-
Operations Nearly 25% of Dickey's Barbecue Franchisees Own Multi-Units-

Expansion Plans
 
Dickey's Barbecue Pit Restaurants Franchise
Hickory River Smokehouse Franchise
US Expansion Yes-
Canada Expansion No-
International Expansion Yes-

Company Overviews

About Dickey's Barbecue Pit Restaurants

Dickey's Barbecue was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey in a one-room building at the intersection of Knox and Central Expressway just north of downtown Dallas. The original store had sawdust on the floors and sold beef brisket, ham and ribs. If you wanted a vegetable, you could have potato chips or barbecue beans, or both. Add a bottle of soda, milk or beer and that was the entire menu. This changed when his two sons, Roland and T.D., Jr. took over the business in 1967. They began to modernize the restaurants and add more meats and vegetables to the menu, which now boasts up to eight meats and eighteen fresh and homemade vegetables. Dickey's Barbecue offers low start-up costs, multiple revenue streams and an expert support team for franchise owners. We also have an extensive training program at Barbecue University, where we drill down on our approach to quality, authentic barbecue and guest focus. In addition, our construction and real estate departments are here to assist franchise owners in site selection, lease negotiation, design, permitting, and equipment procurement. Top 10 reasons to Invest in Your Own Dickey's Barbecue Pit. *Established brand *Low franchise fee *Site location assistance *Thorough training in management, operations & marketing *Protected territories *High purchasing power to avoid over-paying for goods *Quality products in our restaurants *Six revenue streams *Ongoing support from our home office *Multi-unit development deals available As a nationally established brand, Dickey's Barbecue offers years of restaurant knowledge and a team of experts to assist franchise owners through the opening experience.

Veteran Incentives  25% off franchise fee

About Hickory River Smokehouse

To understand why Hickory River Smokehouse, a small, quickservice restaurant chain based in Tipp City OH, Champaign-Urbana IL, is without a doubt one of the Best Undiscovered Franchises in our solar system, you need to understand two things. The first is Barbecue. The second is Brad & Krista Bowman. What you need to know is that Barbecue is a religion. There is no more passionate of a congregation than the devotees of Barbecue.
Hickory River Smokehouse serves real Texas barbecue, in the tradition of the legendary barbecue pits that Brad, literally, visited and studied from one end of the Lone Star state to the other.
The Bowmans created Hickory River Smokehouse to provide authentic, incredible Texas-style barbecue to the rest of the country without compromising flavor or quality. A powerful advantage of the Hickory River Smokehouse concept and product line is its suitability for both take-out and off-premise catering business, two of the most highly prized revenue centers in the restaurant industry. To find out more about this tasty opportunity, you need to contact Brad Bowman or request some more information right away. But be forewarned: you may gain a few pounds before you even get through training. Voted as one of the Top 10 Best Undiscovered Franchises by IdeaFarm, Hickory River Smokehouse and its "Real Texas Barbecue" may be your true ground-floor opportunity to join a Brand with broad appeal and unlimited growth potential. By smoking all meats on site, we create the most tender, flavorful meats possible, then serve it with our proprietary Texas-style barbecue sauce. With complete support, begin building your net worth with our unique concept and be an entrepreneur.