Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is coming to Washington Township, moving into the “Acme” shopping center on Egg Harbor Road (Washington Center Shoppes).
The new restaurant is taking over a 2,170 square foot location on the right side of the strip mall, next to Debears Jewelers (and then Bistro di Marino is at the end). (PDF)
This “new to our area” Barbecue restaurant is based out of Texas and has over 550 locations… but this Sewell location will be owned locally by Mantua NJ resident Chris Bruno.
We chatted with Chris last week. He is a young 42Freeway area guy who simply busted his ass working hard, overcame some tough challenges, and made smart decisions to position himself for restaurant ownership at 30 yrs old. Just the type of person that 42Freeway fans love to support! Read on for more.
Chris hopes for an opening around May of this year.
This is another good food signing for the Egg Harbor Road shopping center, who somewhat recently added Chipotle, First Watch, and not too long ago.. Bistro Di Marino. Lots of diverse food options at this one address!
In South Jersey there is a Dickey’s location in Egg Harbor Township, under different franchise ownership.
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Keep scrolling down for more about Dickey’s Barbecue and Chris!
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit – Sewell
Dickey’s Barbecue started back in 1941 in Dallas Texas.
Today the restaurant business is still operated by the Dickey family, but in 1994 they moved into franchising locations, which is where the large growth in locations has come from. Over 54 new Barbecue locations opened in 2021 alone!
Dickey’s slogan is… Legit. Texas. Barbecue.
And in a recent press release they go on to describe their menu offerings as:
At Dickey’s, all our barbecued meats are smoked onsite in a hickory wood burning pit. Dickey’s proudly believes there’s no shortcut to true barbecue and it’s why our name isn’t BBQ. The Dallas-based, family-run barbecue franchise offers eight slow-smoked meats and 12 wholesome sides with ‘No B.S. (Bad Stuff)’ included. Dickey’s Barbecue 550 locations across the United States and eight other countries.
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit – From January 2021 Press Release
Makes sense that with so many successful locations, and a continuing growth pattern… Dickie’s is doing something right with their barbecue!
Looking at one of their area menus we see the are offering a somewhat extensive list of choices.
Pork, Brisket, Ribs, Chicken, Keilbasa, Smoked Wings and more.
And they mix things up with a variety of sandwiches and entrée preparations with over 20 sandwich varieties and “Cue Creations” such as the Brisket Mac Stack, and Fritos Pie Stack!
While the press release says 12 sides, on their menu I count 18 choices!
Local Ownership: Chris Bruno.
We chatted with Chris on the phone last week. Chris is hard working young man who lives in Mantua, NJ.
Chris has been hobby barbecuing for many years, which started when he noticed an unused grill at a relatives home collecting dust in the garage and when he asked about it… well Chris ended up taking the grill home.
But Family and stability came first, so Chris has spent several years in an engineering type role in the Pharmaceutical industry. Good pay, great benefits.
But Chris has always wanted something more… to be his own boss.
And Barbecue was always in the back of his mind.
Along the way to this Barbecue restaurant plan, Chris also faced some serious hardships when a motorcycle accident took away his ability to walk… and through perseverance and the loving support of his family, Chris was able to strengthen his body and relearn how to walk!
And now starting his own business at 30?
Well this is not a case of being handed a “silver spoon from Dad” to start the business. As Chris worked hard at his job… he saved and studied the best place to invest his money.
Which has lead him to being a Dickey’s Restaurant Franchise Owner.
Sure I’ve gone a long way to build up Chris’ achievements… but in America there is this unfair “I’m a millennial, where’s my participation trophy” sentiment… and it was refreshing to hear how Chris positioned himself for this next chapter in his and his family’s lives.
We’ll be watching the restaurant progress closely and will post more as the opening date gets closer.
I got scooped on this one! A blog out of Philly had this story first. I think there is a “Commercial Leasing” press release service out there that I am unfamiliar with, and I need to subscribe to. Chris himself doesn’t know how the news go out! So in all fairness (and because I whine when my stories are stolen and I don’t get credit), you can read that other post at What Now Philly.
Links and Location
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit -Sewell
Washington Center Shoppes
415 Egg Harbor Road – Unit 22
Sewell NJ 08080
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