Dickey's Barbecue Pit has fired its smokers back up in Longmont, returning to the city after an absence of nearly two years and setting up shop in a new space on the other end of town.
The comeback comes roughly two years after the chain's original Longmont location at 1935 Main St. went dark. As reported by BizWest, which first reported on the reopening, Dickey's has now returned to the city, though this time in a different part of town. That original Main Street spot had been opened by a local family, Gary, Lesa, and Melinda Kolm, according to a company announcement from Dickey's franchise arm, which noted the Kolms had called Longmont home for more than 20 years at the time.
Dickey's Barbecue Pit now lists its Longmont address as 1100 Ken Pratt Boulevard on the chain's own site, offering dine-in, carryout, online pickup, curbside service and delivery. The brand traces its roots back to 1941, when it was founded by Travis Dickey, and the franchise's announcement touted the chain's growth to more than 560 locations across 43 states.
A Rocky Stretch for the Chain's Front Range Footprint
The original Longmont location's closure wasn't an isolated hiccup for the barbecue chain locally. A local outlet, 99.9 The Point, reported that the Main Street restaurant had closed by November 21, 2024, after a Facebook post flagged the shutdown. A follow-up call to the location the next day found the phone lines down, the outlet said, reinforcing that the restaurant had indeed gone dark.
That closure fit a broader pattern in the region. The same report noted that Dickey's locations in nearby Loveland and Windsor had also shuttered in the years prior, leaving a noticeable gap in the chain's presence along the northern Front Range.
A Chain That's Been Shrinking Nationally
The struggles weren't limited to Colorado. The outlet's report also pointed to a rough stretch nationally for Dickey's, noting the company had closed nearly 100 locations in 2023 even as it continued to tout its overall footprint of more than 560 restaurants in 43 states.
For now, Longmont residents again have a Dickey's to turn to, this time on Ken Pratt Boulevard rather than Main Street. Details on the new location's current hours and ownership haven't been independently confirmed beyond what the chain lists on its own site.
