Dickey's Barbecue Pit — Restaurant in Virginia

This is a review of the Catering service at the King George, VA location:

Bottom line up front: Worst Catering experience ever. Not recommended under any circumstances -- you will be disappointed. You've been warned.

Details: Decided to cater Christmas Eve 2023 dinner for the extended family instead of the traditional many-hour grind in the kitchen, and choose Dickey's due to convenient proximity and family preference for BBQ. I met with the store Catering expert in-person, reviewed the menu, and placed a $300+ order. Food was supposed to be picked-up pre-cooked, but cold (reheat for ~1 hour at home needed was what was explained at the time of order -- this was acceptable and factored into our dinner plan). However, at pickup, the store staff attempted to give me the order, minus 3 main entrees, and the Turkey was uncooked (3-5 hours needed to fully cook it at home). Further, the staff was disoriented, unsure what was supposed to be in my order (despite having the receipt available), and much discussion amongst themselves on what condition the food was 'supposed' to be in at pick-up (i.e. cooked vs. uncooked Turkey, for example). This is a painful review to author, as I do enjoy Dickey's BBQ, but clearly their head is not in the Catering Game. Business process help needed in this area, from a professional catering service.

Needless to say, these circumstances wrecked our holiday dinner plan for Christmas Eve, and I won't be trusting Dickey's with my Holiday plans in the future.

~Former...

UPDATE

Sauces are vastly improved, not just sugar anymore, the meat is tender and juicy, and the smoker's had time to season. $8 for an enormous sandwich with 2 sides is a great deal for great food, I'll probably stop here again. Speaking of sides, I've never had better fried onions or creamed spinach. Think about what BBQ is: it's pure high-quality meat that needs to cook for 6+8 hours, it's not cheap or simple to make, the best stuff is the culmination of decades of practice, and $8 for just a good sandwich at a traditional rib joint is usually a good deal. Your mind won't be blown, but this is great food that's cheaper than many regular mediocre fast food places (Wendy's and Arby's). This place was not good at all when it first opened, but it's aged like a fine wine.

Dickey's has solved the usual problem with chain BBQ places: you can't really smoke something for 6+ hours on-site while maintaining an efficient nationwide supply chain, 100% availability of all menu items at all times, and reasonable prices. Expansion was the beginning of Allmans' downfall, they're back down to one location and even that isn't what it used to be. The only good chain I had been to, Mission BBQ, had to abandon the traditional fast food requirements of 100% consistency and availability and smoke everything in house. All of the good BBQ restaurants that open around here seem to fail because the owners are bad at supply chain management and demand prediction, but the two we have now seem to be here to stay. I'm not...

This place has AMAZING food. I have never had one menu item that was not delicious! (And I've had a LOT of them! 😁). The Dickie's where I am from unfortunately closed, but luckily this one is close to where I recently moved! EVERY TIME I am in or even near King George (VA), I stop here! The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. I frequently see the owner and his son working which shows me how dedicated they are to the quality of the establishment. I truly appreciate it! This is a clean and efficiently run business and I give it a 10/10!

My Favorite Menu Items:

I usually get the 2 meat plate with mashed, spinach & it comes with your choice of bread, so I always get the biscuit. See below for more details.

Chicken Brisket Pulled Pork Brisket Chili Mashed Potatoes Creamed Spinach Onion Straws

Regular & Sweet BBQ Sauces are my favorites, although the Spicy one is good too. It is not at all spicy to me, but I do like to eat really spicy foods.

FYI: this is an extremely RARE review to get from me because I worked in the restaurant industry for more...