Dickey's Barbecue Pit — Restaurant in Huntsville

Let me start with saying that we normally have an EXCELLENT EXPERIENCE WITH THIS ESTABLISHMENT, just not on this occasion!!! However, I could not allow this experience go without some course of action.

Upon entering the restaurant on 12/20/2020 at 5pm my entire perspective for this establishment has been FOREVER SHIFTED!! I walked in with another woman of color entering in behind me as well, neither of us were greeted but the 2 gentleman working seem to be frantically busy so I put little stock into not being acknowledged (I will mention that not being acknowledged is not the norm). I stood at the area designated to place your order for 6-8 minutes still with neither of the 2 men even recognizing my or the other ladies presence.

I then ask the older gentleman who was carving brisket if they were taking orders, and he then responded that they were getting another ladies order ready and would get to me when they were done. I responded with "ok, thank you".

The older gentleman finished the other customers order, then asked me what would I like to order. I ask him if they have family packs, and we then proceed to put together the items I would like my family pack to consist of (2lbs of beef brisket, 3 add on beef ribs, rolls, potato salad, Cole slaw, 2 bbq sauces, and green beans). IN THE MIDST OF MAKING MY FOOD A FAMILY WALKS IN (not persons of color) AND THE OLDER GENTLEMAN PAUSES TO GREET THEM, I am then obviously taken aback.

I then move to the area to pay for my food (now interacting with the young man that was working) which totaled to be $59.90. After ringing up my food and giving me my card back (not giving me my recipe to sign, he walked away before it printed) the young man walks away out of sight of the register and starts opening up boxes of cups. I take my receipt off the register, sign the restaurant copy, and take my copy. I then wait for the young man to come back to make sure that he and I both had everything that we needed related to my food and the transaction. I tell the young man that I got my receipt and left his copy on the counter, he then says "you didn't need to sign that, you should have just left it". I then grab my food and leave.

I prepare the food for my family, noting that the bread is browned more than usual but think nothing of it at that time. My 4yo goes to bite a piece of bread and it was like a hockey puck... all of them were that way with the exception of 1 that wasn't as hard. The ribs (which are normally cooked to perfection) were hard, dry, and salty. AND TO ADD INSULT TO INJURY THERE WAS WHITE/GRAY HAIR FOUND IN THE BRISKET!!!!!

I have had it at this point, and I then call the restaurant back to make them aware of what happened. The young man that rang up my order was who answered the phone, he made me aware that his name was John after I had inquired. I then told John about all of the things that were wrong with our food order. John then tells me "the bread warmer can get too warm sometimes and then over cooks the bread, so that's why that happened". Ummm... ok. Then John says "Oh, and the ribs are smoked for 3 hours, but then we put them in the warmer and that can continue to cook the ribs, so that's why that happened". I then say " But John, I have had your food multiple times in the past and have NEVER EVER HAD AN EXPERIENCE LIKE THIS". John then tells me "well I can refund you for the bread".

I then ask for the name of and to speak to the manager on duty (who is apparently the gentleman that carved our brisket and took my order), who's name is Mr. Lingenmeister (not sure if this is correct spelling). I then make him aware of the situation and he then offers to refund the rolls, ribs, and brisket for a total he says of $26. I just say ok, whatever at this point.

I will be trying to reach the restaurant manager today and someone at corporate office. This type of customer service is completely and utterly unacceptable, and reflects VERY POORLY ON THIS ESTABLISHMENT!

We basically spent our hard earned monies ( due to something I obviously have...

Not a good experience.

I was surprised this restaurant is a national chain. Upon approaching the Order Here sign on at the counter, you are greeted by a dirty toaster. Much of the restaurant was filthy; the kitchen, the soda fountain and cutlery/fixins area, ceiling tiles, etc. There was no music on in the restaurant so it was quiet and awkward feeling. I ordered brisket which was very dry and resembled London broil. My "texas toast" was a cold Hawaiian roll that was barely toasted at some point on the bottom. We ordered dino nuggets but were served regular chicken nuggets. Food was served on paper over metal trays. One of the trays was filthy under the paper. The fountain machine had no ice, the soda coming out of it was warm and the Coke Zero had little syrup. I went with Diet Coke. An employee did get us ice from the kitchen. There were hardly any forks in the bins. The women's bathroom soap container was broken and unusable and the men's room was filthy. There was a mini split AC unit on the wall above our table that dripped water onto it, we put down paper towels to soak it up. And to top it off, two kids meals, a pulled pork sandwich and a two-meat plate was over $50 which is very expensive.

The employees were nice but this is a poorly run establishment that could use a deep-cleaning and some maintenance. I do not plan to eat there again and would not recommend it to anyone. I noticed several similar negative reviews over the last year with management saying they are taking feedback in account for improvements but it does not appear they...

What can I say!? Dickey's Barbecue has some downscale, but not too much downscale to be upscale enough and allowed on the outskirts of posh Bridge Street Town Center.... in the pedestrian "over by Toys R Us" section... It is patterned after the early 30s and 40s bare bones, almost a barn, BBQ shacks of the South. An American success story, Dickey's was started in 1941, in Dallas Texas, and to this day, now franchised, they smoke their meats on site. For the struggling vegetarian they have chicken and turkey stuff also. Every meal comes with complimentary ice cream.

I couldn't agree with any of the negative reviews I read. The place was clean. They use succulent top cuts of pork and beef with an array of sauces and I thought the prices were in line... especially with free ice cream ;-)

The staff was very attentive. When I asked about a particular sandwich the cook actually pulled some meat to show me exactly how it was put together. The place had a little customer buzz when I got there but my food was served quickly and I found out where the cook's family was from and a counter-jockey's to boot. The place is tiny though so showing up with 6 folks can be iffy unless splitting up is an option. The condiment corner is a little cramped. This place could actually be 1st date material iffen yore girl or hombre ain't too highfalutin. Kids eat free on Sunday.. and where else can you get jalapeno beans with your mac and cheese? Don't worry about tipping the servers,...