Eat All About It: Transplanted Texan brings a taste of home to Tri-Cities

A job brought Dan Pelfrey to the Tri-Cities.

But it was a chance business decision that induced him to bring a taste of his native Texas to the Mid-Columbia. Pelfrey opened the third edition of Dickey's BBQ Pit last week in Pasco under a franchise agreement with the company's Texas-based parent corporation.

Pelfrey is a born-and-bred Texan who grew up in Orange and dined on Dickey's cuisine. College took him to Utah. A two-year mission with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent him to Africa, where speaking the native language erased most of his drawl.

A job with a company that coordinated trucking for Lamb Weston's 10 Mid-Columbia processing plants brought him and his wife, Heather, to eastern Washington.

They bought a home, started a family and fell in love with the Tri-Cities.

But they found themselves at loose ends when the trucking company was sold. The new owner dropped its potato-hauling line to focus on other accounts.

Pelfrey took his severance pay and with Heather decided to stay put and scratch the entrepreneurial itch that dated to his days studying the mechanics of business ownership at Utah State.

"I knew I wanted to own my own business, to be my own boss," he said.

Dickey's was the perfect fit. He missed authentic Texas-style barbecue. Dickey's, a privately-held company, had expanded through franchising to 43 states. But it hadn't reached the Tri-Cities.

He signed a contract to open his first store, in Kennewick. That outlet debuted in 2014 to strong demand.

"The Tri-Cities loves barbecue," he said.

In fact, once Kennewick opened, the parent corporation heard from more would-be entrepreneurs eager to open additional locations here. Pelfrey's agreement gave him the first right of refusal to neighboring markets.

Dickey's was eager to move on the interest and he signed deals for Richland and Pasco. Richland opened in 2015 at Queensgate.

A year later, he agreed to lease space for his third location in what was then a unbuilt Pasco strip mall at 6627 Burden Blvd., near TRAC. The Pelfreys live nearby and he'd been interested in the high-traffic spot since he first got into the restaurant business.

He also holds the rights to open Dickey's locations in Moses Lake, Walla Walla, Pullman and Hermiston. He has no immediate development plans but hopes to execute the growth plan over the next decade.

The Pasco store is the largest of the three and serves as the Pelfreys' headquarters. In a nod to TRAC, it includes an event space with seating for up to 100. it also includes offices and space to train employees in the ways of Dickey's. The company employs 20 in Pasco and 12 each in Richland and Kennewick.

Pelfrey said the local Dickey's restaurants follow the procedures laid out by the Dickey family when it established the first restaurant in 1941 in Dallas.

Meat is rubbed and cooked "low and slow" on site in a smoke pit over hickory with no added preservatives or chemicals.

"Let the wood do the work," is the company motto.

It serves brisket, brisket, pulled port, ribs, chicken, turkey, polish and spicy cheddar sausage, 13 side dishes and baked potatoes. In a nod to the current Dickey's CEO, all stores offer complementary soy-based soft-serve ice cream. Roland Dickey Jr. enjoys ice cream but is lactose intolerant, Pelfrey said.

The three local Dickey's locations are open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Butcher beef with confidence

Learn to carve up your own meat in June.

A nationally known "artisan" butcher and a beef producer will lead a workshop covering beef butchering techniques, grilling and how to integrate spices to enhance the flavor of specific cuts of meat.

The program includes a four-hour workshop and a dinner. Participants will take home a boning knife, apron and 12 pounds of beef.

The one-day course is repeated June 20, 21 and 22 at the Meals on Wheels' kitchen, 1834 Fowler St., Richland.

Proceeds will support the hospitality program at Columbia Basin College. Visit columbiabasin.edu/hsp for information or to register.

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This story was originally published May 8, 2018 at 12:49 PM with the headline "Eat All About It: Transplanted Texan brings a taste of home to Tri-Cities."