Minnesota's Shrinking Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Locations Explained

Once upon a time, the largest barbecue chain in the country was spreading across Minnesota faster than smoke off a backyard grill. But today, only four locations remain standing—leaving ribs, brisket, and burnt ends a little harder to come by in the Bold North.

The Surprising Decline of America's Largest BBQ Chain in Minnesota

Not that long ago, this barbecue restaurant chain boasted over 860 locations across the country and was adding restaurants here faster than a normal Minnesota winter storm adds inches of snow to your driveway. But that was nearly seven years ago, and now this chain has become the latest in a string of national restaurants to shutter a portion of its restaurants.

Dickey's Barbecue Pit Closes Dozens of Locations Nationwide, Impacting Minnesota

It was just last year ago that this chain announced it would be closing 19 more locations on top of previous closings that already happened earlier in 2024. All told, those closings meant the chain had reduced its restaurant count by 97 locations, industry site QSR noted, though it also said the chain had opened 12 'franchised units' last year.

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These announcements hit close to home because we love our restaurants, right? They play a unique role in our economy and culture both here in Minnesota and across the country. The National Restaurant Association estimates that there are currently over 11,100 restaurants in the North Star State, generating over $15 billion in sales.

So just which barbecue restaurant chain are we talking about? That would be Dickey's Barbecue Pit. The chain that's known for serving smoked beef brisket, southern pulled pork, St. Louis-style ribs, spicy cheddar sausage, smoked chicken, turkey, and more was founded by Travis Dickey in Dallas, Texas, back in 1941.

Dickey's has expanded a lot since then, and according to its website, it now features '866 locations spanning eight unique concepts in 44 states and around the globe.' But it's down to just two locations here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. EatThisNotThat says that Dickey's shuttered 30 more locations as recently as last December.

Only Four Dickey's Barbecue Pit Locations Remain Open in Minnesota

This Unhappy Franchisee story says those closings were in addition to Dickey's having previously closed several locations here in the Bold North, including Dickey's restaurants in Eden Prairie, Edina, Mankato, Bemidji, Hermantown, Burnsville, and Rochester.

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Earlier this year, the Dickey's Barbecue Pit website had listed just two locations that are still open here in Minnesota:

3090 Courthouse Lane in Eagan
5466 Saint Croix Trail in North Branch

However, there are now two other locations listed, as well:

10050 Crosstown Circle in Eden Prairie
7300 Metro Boulevard in Edina

However, there appears to be conflicting information on whether or not those two locations are, in fact, still open. The Dickey's website says the Eden Prairie location is only open weekdays from 9am to 2pm, so it's possible it is located within the One Corporate Center that also shares that address.

Similar weekday-only hours are also listed for the Dickey's Eden Prairie location, so it's also likely this restaurant is located within the Crosstown Centre complex that is also located at that address.

It's always interesting to see the rise and fall of brands that were once extremely popular here in Minnesota. I'm glad there are at least two Dickey's Barbecue Pits left in our fair state. Some brands, though, weren't so lucky. So to check out some familiar names that were once popular but now only exist in our memories, keep scrolling to see 50 beloved retail chains that aren't around anymore today.