Nationally-recognized barbecue restaurant coming to Pahrump

A 75-year-old business with a reputation for serving some of the finest barbecue anywhere is on its way to the Pahrump Valley next month.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, which first opened in Texas in 1941 with one restaurant, is tentatively scheduled to open Aug. 11.

Pahrump franchise owner Doug Dubin said Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is a true American success story with more than 530 locations in 43 states.

He held crew interviews on Monday, where upward of 90 potential employees turned out at the Bob Ruud Community Center. The business will be located next to Denny’s.

“We got a nice cross-section of Pahrump for the opportunity to hire pit crew members, which is what we call the members of our organization,” he said. “Everyone seemed enthusiastic and excited. Everything we did was through social media off of our Facebook page.”

Of the 90-plus candidates to apply, Dubin said he’s planned another interview process later this month.

“We saw the opportunity that a number of people will move on to the second round of interviews, but anybody who didn’t necessarily have the opportunity for a second interview, we will send them out a ‘thank you for coming to see us,’ letter and that will give them an opportunity to come in and have some free food on us just for coming to apply for a job.”

Dubin is looking to hire anywhere between 12-to-15 pit crew members once the interviews are completed.

He made certain to point out that lack of experience is not a disqualifier for any of the open positions.

“Experience is good, but what’s more important to us is somebody who is excited and enthusiastic,” he said. “We like to see happy and outgoing personalities. As far as everything else goes, we can train that person. Again, if someone is really outgoing and just overall happy to be there, we can make them successful.”

Part of that success Dubin noted, was the competitive salary, along with benefits the business offers to its employees.

“We have starting salaries that are above the industry standard,” he said. “We also have a full cache of benefits that the employees will get, some of which will start the day they join us.”

As Dubin was getting the initial phases of his business up and running this year, he said many people told him that a nationally-recognized barbecue restaurant would be a veritable hit among residents in the Pahrump Valley.

“Everyone keeps telling us that and I’m excited about that, but we are not concerned about having a hit,” he said. “Our main concern is making sure that we provide the best experience for our guests as well as our pit crew.”

Dubin said evidence of that experience is evidenced by the level of service as well as the food.

The menu features all of the favorites among barbecue aficionados.

“Our two big menu items are the pulled pork and the beef brisket, which are both smoked in-house every day for 14 hours,” he said. “That means you have fall-off-the-bone pork and brisket that I guarantee is the moistest of any organization. It’s all about the guests who come in and enjoy the fact that our brisket is so incredible. It is definitely something to take home and enjoy day in and day out.”

Aside from the food and service, Dubin also said his prices are not out of reach for those who are looking to enjoy quality barbecue in a restaurant setting or take-out.

“In the past, barbecue has been very expensive, which has reduced the demographic as to who can afford to eat at various barbecue establishments,” he said. “We have actually worked out a menu that puts us in direct competition with fast food. We are a fast-casual restaurant and in fact Dickey’s is identified as the number one fast-casual in the country. It’s great food and we are part of the newest generation of stores. It’s all about the health quality of the food. In fact, in certain cases we are providing more healthful chicken and beef on the menu.”

With three restaurants in the Las Vegas area, Dubin said Pahrump is one of a dozen locations for additional restaurants planned in the Southwest.

“We are looking for people that will join us locally and some may want to move on into management or store opening positions,” he said. “There’s a lot of opportunities, not only locally, but in Clark County as well as parts of California.”

For those who missed Monday’s hiring event, interested individuals can apply online at dickeys.com.

“There is a drop-down screen that says careers and they can fill out the online application which goes right to my email address,” Dubin said. “It’s always best if they can put in a resume if they have one. If they don’t, it’s not a big deal but it would make things go a little faster. We are certainly going to keep them on file because we’re always looking for good people.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes