The Dyer family is celebrating 50 years of serving its family recipes to the people of the Panhandle. It was in 1967 when Roy Dyer and his parents Finace and Neva started the family-style barbeque restaurant in Pampa. Patrons enjoyed all they could eat for $1.75. The family opened a second location in Amarillo in 1984. Today both locations remain rooted in the same passion the Dyer family had half a century ago.
“We’re doing exactly the same thing as the day we opened,” says Roy Dyer. “Our meats, rubs, sauce, and side dishes are the same Family recipes we developed over the years and improved as we went along. Everything is basically the same made from scratch recipes with some new favorites like hickory smoked prime rib on Friday and Saturday nights, hand cut rib eye steaks and boneless Mississippi Delta catfish deep fried in our special corn meal batter.”
The longevity of Dyer’s Bar-B-Que speaks to its authenticity and dedication, not only in the restaurants but also in its catering practices. Catering is a primary reason for Dyer’s Bar-B-Que’s continued success over the years. The local economy has seen some ups and downs over the years but we try to keep the quality high and the prices fair. The restaurants are consistently busy “We are blessed with.business but always have room for more” says Dyer. The demand for hickory smoked prime rib and other award-winning smoked meats transcends city and county lines. Catering in the earliest days took Dyer’s Bar-B-Que all over the Panhandle and as far as Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming. Today, those catering opportunities continue to grow with new locations and new menu choices.
“The recipes are time-tested. We keep a close eye on the quality,” says Dyer. “Having good employees is the key. We have people who care about what they’re doing. We’re extremely lucky to have the ones we have and could not do it without them.”
Dyer’s Bar-B-Que is still a family-run affair, with Dyer’s son, Brent and wife Kim in Pampa, his grandson Nick and wife Savanna in Amarillo, his daughter Angela in Amarillo, and his wife Christy doing whatever needs to be done at any given time.
“If she tells me to jump, I say, ‘how high?'” he laughs. We are truly a family business. I have had so many ask the secret to our longevity. I always say “Sell a quality product at a fair price, treat everyone as if they are family and pray for God’s blessings.” My parents both grew up in large farming families during the depression and they understood the value of hard work and a dollar. They made certain we always centered the business around those core principles.
“We take care of the business,” Dyer continues. “We don’t know anything else. We are here every day making certain we get it right. We all have a passion for the business. I am especially excited about my grandson Nick. He has all the passion for the business the last three generations have possessed, the same work ethic, and his ribs just might be better than mine. When I pass the reigns to the fourth generation I have complete confidence you will be interviewing him for the 75th celebration.”
© Dyer's Bar-B-Que
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