This Puyallup restaurant with Texas-style barbecue has a new owner. He’s local
Earlier this year, Tacoma resident Mark Schweizer was searching for a local business to call his own.
And then an opportunity presented itself: Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. The previous owner lived out of state and was selling the Puyallup location, which is one of nine locations in Washington state and 387 nationwide.
“Sometimes you just get lucky and things fall into place,” Schweizer told The News Tribune. “I saw this and it kind of fit the right parameters. It was the right location, and I liked the fact that it was a little different than the typical category. It wasn’t a cheeseburger-and-fry place.”
He became the owner on July 1, marking four months of local ownership at the restaurant, which is located at 3932 S. Meridian. It used to be a Skipper’s Seafood, but became a Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in 2013.
“The owner prior to this lived in Montana, I don’t think that works,” Schweizer said. “I’m here every day and I want to be a part of the restaurant and part of the operations and work with my team, so it was important that it was local.”
His career took him in several different directions – first as an electrical engineer, then as the chief executive officer for a company that made industrial diamonds, followed by some start-ups. Recently, he was doing strategy consultation for equity firms before he decided to return to his restaurant roots.
“I used to be in restaurants a long time ago. When I was, like, 20 years old, I managed a Denny’s,” Schweizer said. “I wanted some place that I could feel part of the community.”
‘Truly a legit Texas barbecue’
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is famous for its Texas-style roots and flavors. Of the 313 locations, 103 are located in Texas – and Schweizer spent a month this year in Dallas, learning the chain’s decades-long tips and tricks.
“I went down to Texas to try and be a barbecue guy and I tried a month down in the original Dickey’s in Dallas,” Schweizer said. “The same pit they have had since 1941.”
Schweizer said some of the restaurant’s signature dishes include brisket, pulled pork, ribs, fried okra and mac and cheese. All the meats are smoked in-house, and the brisket is slow-cooked for 13 hours overnight.
“It’s pretty unique, and it is truly a legit Texas barbecue,” Schweizer said.
The News Tribune asked Schweizer what he plans to do now that the chain is under local ownership. He said he has spent the past four months catching up on deferred maintenance and building team morale.
“It’s hard when the owner’s not here and all you do is talk on the phone vs. when I’m here working alongside them,” Schweizer said. “I think it makes everybody take a little more pride in their craft.”
‘We had every single staff member working’
Schweizer said the business model has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic. About 40% of orders are from DoorDash or Uber Eats, and about 30% consists of to-go orders. He said that while he is embracing the new model, he also wants to foster a community where he can.
“The first thing that will happen is someone will walk in the door and someone will shout, ‘Welcome in, how are you today?’” Schweizer said. “I’m still old school. It feels best in here when we’re busy and find ways to build that sense of community and get folks in the restaurant.”
Recently, Dickey’s offered a free pulled pork sandwich to every veteran during Veteran’s Day on Nov. 11. Schweizer said 185 veterans came in for a sandwich that day – more than twice the traffic from the year before.
“We went through an enormous amount of pulled pork, 95 pounds,” Schweizer said. “It was super exciting, we had every single staff member working to serve them and everybody was really happy. It was really rewarding.”
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., 7 days a week.
This story was originally published November 17, 2025 at 10:00 AM.
