When Sarah Forest’s 29-year-old son, Alex, said “let’s open a Dickeys Barbecue Pit in Issaquah,” she said “OK.”
That’s all it took for her. Both originally from Texas, Alex works in oil and gas drilling in Oklahoma. Sarah said the first thing he wants to do when he gets off the rigs is go to Dickeys, a franchise that was born in Dallas in 1941.
The chain was started by Roland Dickey – now there are over 300 nationwide, most in Texas. Sarah and Alex are business partners, but it’s clear mom is doing most of the work in Issaquah. This Dickeys is the sixth in Washington state, and the first to use the company’s new design standard.
The concept with Dickeys is called move with the food. Once you enter, you go through the line, first selecting your meat. Choose from turkey, brisket, chicken, ribs, pulled pork, Virginia ham, polish sausage, spicy cheddar sausage and, since this is Issaquah, salmon. The brisket and pulled pork smoke for 14 hours in the huge hickory smoker that rotates 24/7. The other meats don’t take as long.
If the temperature gets too hot or cold, an alarm goes off so they can adjust accordingly. After your meat selection, you move down the line for sides. The choices are many — potato salad (dill or original), loaded baked potato casserole, green beans, jalapeño beans that Sarah said are not too hot, barbecue baked beans, mac and cheese, caesar salad, smokehouse salad, fried okra, waffle fries, garden salad or a baked potato.
If you’re a vegetarian, you can load up your potato with beans and couple it with a few salads. And there’s dessert, too, including Frito pie, which Sarah said is out of this world.
General manager Denise Bassett and Sarah met in the Navy where both were sub-hunters. Sarah Forest moved to Issaquah when she got out of the Navy in 1995.
“This store is really unique,” Bassett said. “Sarah has put a lot of effort into making it really beautiful.”
Once you gather your food and beverage (there is bottled beer), take a seat and they do the rest for you. Seven tables have power and USB ports, and the entire restaurant will have free wi-fi. Catering will be available, too.
Dickeys can seat 88, with a maximum occupancy of 129. Dickeys Barbecue Pit is located in the Overlake Shopping Center in Issaquah, behind Bartells at 5704 E. Lake Sammamish Drive, Suite 103. It is the first tenant in the space. The grand opening starts Thursday.
