The world’s largest barbecue chain, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, is facing new legal heat after a franchise investor filed a lawsuit in Houston, claiming the company left him on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars tied to a restaurant that never opened.
Josef Francis Gregory, who signed on to launch a Dickey’s location in Nassau Bay in 2019, alleges the company approved a construction firm that charged massive sums for work that was never completed. Now, he is seeking more than $1 million in damages, per the Houston Business Journal.
According to the legal complaint filed on July 9, Dickey’s used the HDH Construction company out of South Carolina to build out the restaurant. Gregory says he financed the project through North Carolina-based Dogwood State Bank, but despite transferring what he describes as “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the construction project was apparently abandoned halfway.
The lawsuit further claims that the construction was not only incomplete but also unapproved and differed from the original terms of their agreement.
The case adds to some growing scrutiny surrounding the Fort Worth-based barbecue giant.
Dickey’s has shuttered dozens of locations globally in the past year and has been accused by multiple former franchisees of misleading financial practices. A New York Times report published in June included complaints from 37 current and former owners who said they were lured in with inflated projections and vague promises of support from the company.
In a statement responding to Gregory’s lawsuit, Dickey’s denied wrongdoing and pointed the finger back at the franchisee.
“The franchise and loan agreements signed by Mr. Gregory explicitly detail the process for the build-out of his restaurant, including the terms for the disbursement of construction funds. These agreements place the responsibility and control over payment authorizations squarely with the franchisee.”
“The allegation that funds were improperly disbursed by DSB is a matter between Mr. Gregory and the lender he selected. Dickey’s is not a party to the financing agreement and has no authority to control or direct the disbursement of loan proceeds.”
The company further denied any conspiratorial relationship with HDH, describing the construction firm as an independent entity with no shared ownership.
Founded in 1941, Dickey’s has more than 100 locations in Texas alone, and a nationwide presence built on barbecue staples like brisket, ribs, and pulled pork. However, with legal challenges mounting and disgruntled partners speaking out, the chain’s growth model is increasingly under scrutiny.
With the growing number of complaints and lawsuits, it seems that a report published last month by The Dallas Morning News, celebrating the corporation’s resilience, may be somewhat incomplete, to say the least. The author of the report, praising the company’s transparency and history, is Roland Dickey Jr., the grandson of the restaurant chain’s founder, Travis Dickey.
As for the Nassau Bay location? Five years after Gregory signed on, the doors remain shut, and the courtroom is now where the smoke is rising.