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Dickey’s Barbecue done growed up. The restaurant chain celebrated its seventh decade of existence in October, and now it celebrates another major milestone: its 200th location. While new locations have been popping up across 36 states, this latest opening is a little closer to home. Dwain and LaLena Carpenter opened the doors to their Abilene, Texas location on Saturday.
I’ve never eaten at Dickey’s. So I hit up the Observer to check out the coverage we’ve given the chain in the past. The coverage mostly seems indifferent, but the comments are volatile. Readers either love the chain or long for the days before the restaurant started expanding.
In 2007, we posted a piece about Dickey’s pending expansion. At that point 113 locations were open with 56 more in development. In 2010, we pointed out that Dickey’s planned to go coast to coast. And later that year, Hanna Raskin reported on Dickey’s newest offering at the time: smoked cheddar and jalapeno sausage.
Observer readers gave the chain a little love too. In 2004 Dickey’s was awarded a readers choice Best Barbecue Restaurant. They got it again in 2010.
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