Doug Edwards, left, and his wife, Dede, right, are the newest owners of Dickey's Barbeque Pit in Tyler. (Jennifer Scott/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Back in November, the former owner of Dickey’s Barbecue Pit decided it was time to close the popular restaurant franchise in Tyler after 11 years due to health issues. Fortunately, it was not down for long, thanks to new owners Doug and Dede Edwards, of Longview.

“We’ve put a lot of work into it and worked hard to make improvements,” Dede said. “We’ve been up and running since January.”

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is a fast-casual restaurant that got its start in Dallas. The restaurant chain serves beef brisket, pulled pork, pork ribs, Polish sausage, spicy cheddar sausage, hot link, and chicken. It opened for franchising opportunities in 1994.

“The building needed some TLC,” Doug said, “but it has all come along quite nicely.”

Between buying new equipment and waiting on updated fixtures, the Edwards have worked hard to get things open and ready on time.

“We’ve been waiting on new glass and materials for the drive-thru window and the digital menu board… but it would be at least three months,” Doug said. “We really didn’t want to wait that long to reopen… but some of the equipment we’ve ordered, we’ve been able to get right away and there are others that are still kind of trickling in.”

The building received updated plumbing, as well an overall facelift and cleaning to keep it more up-to-date. For the consistency of the food, as well as food safety, the new owners made sure to have more updated equipment.

“You have your fryers, your refrigeration, your warmers,” Doug said. “(The) state-of-the-art, humidity-controlled, environmentally controlled (new equipment)… to maintain good quality food.”

One equipment update they’re super excited about is a new ice machine.

“Just from previous experience — and how much I love it — I know my customers love that ice,” Doug said, laughing. “It’s that good, chewable pellet ice. I wanted to be able to provide that as well.”

The only thing they did not replace was the smoker.

“The thing about smokers is the more seasoned they are, the better the food is,” Doug said.

Doug had been in the restaurant business for most of his life, including being an executive chef at high-end resorts and a food and beverage director for a large hotel chain.

This isn’t the couple’s first rodeo with Dickey’s Barbeque Pit. They had been living in Longview and were managing another fast food chain. Doug was considering retiring until he realized how limited the barbecue options were in Longview.

“We just got sick of not being able to get barbecue after six o’clock,” Doug said. “I mean, there was just no place… they’d just always be out or closed.”

The Edwards decided to invest in Dickey’s Barbecue Pit for the Longview area.

“It’s been challenging but it’s fun,” Doug said. “It keeps me out of the house and out of her hair.”

When the Tyler location was looking to shut down permanently, corporate reached out to the Edwards about taking over.

“I always wanted to be in Tyler,” Doug said. “Dede is … from Tyler so when the opportunity presented itself, we jumped at it.”

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit also serves homestyle sides including fried okra, jalapeño beans, green beans with bacon, barbecue beans, corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, Caesar or garden salad, and more.

“We’ve come across people who think that because it’s a franchise, it’s all precooked… it’s all pre-made,” Doug said. “That’s not the case here. We smoke our meats right in that smoker. Our macaroni and cheese is a thousand times better than anything you can get in any other fast casual place. The noodles are not mush. The cheese is actual cheese. Our potatoes are potatoes — they’re not instant.”

They have used many of the same recipes since the restaurant was established in 1941.

“Dickey’s has really phenomenal products prepared by people who really care,” Doug said. “Our crew is amazing, they’re really sweet.”

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit also offers catering services, which is well-known for the ‘big, yellow boxes.’

“They have a really good catering mechanism,” Doug said. “They streamlined the service… it’s super simple to go online… you can pick from different sizes based on how many people you’re feeding. Everything is… easily transported, easily delivered.”

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has an app but customers can also use DoorDash and Uber Eats for more convenient ordering.

“We’re doing our best to give back to the community and keep the tradition of Dickey’s going,” Doug said. “Socializing while serving customers, that’s what I love most. Plus, I’ve done most of the corporate stuff… I’ve done all that and now, I just want to sit back and barbeque.”

Dickey’s is open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and located at 1501 W SW Loop 323 in Tyler. You can also visit the website, www.dickeys.com for more information.