Spring Creek Barbeque

What Spring Creek Barbeque does

Spring Creek Barbeque is a privately held Texas barbecue restaurant chain founded in 1980 by Chris Carroll, headquartered in Arlington, Texas, and operating as part of Carroll Family Restaurants, a diversified family restaurant group that also owns Mexican Inn Cafe and Shady Oak Barbeque & Grill and runs 42 locations across Texas. The core business is casual full-service dining featuring hickory-smoked and chargrilled meats (brisket, ribs, pulled pork, sausage, turkey, chicken) with homestyle sides, supplemented by a multi-channel off-premise stack: a web-based ordering platform (order.springcreekbarbeque.com), native iOS and Android mobile apps, a DoorDash delivery partnership, and a dedicated catering operation (springcreekbarbequecatering.com) that includes private dining rooms for 50-60 guests free of charge with meal purchase. The company also operates a branded retail product line of 18-oz Classic and Carolina-style BBQ sauces sold at locations and shipped direct, with 100% of sauce profits donated to education-based charities, and runs the 'Que Rewards loyalty program (terms updated June 2023) for points accumulation, birthday/anniversary rewards, and BOGO offers.

The revenue model is primarily transactional: dine-in and carry-out food sales across locations (entrees $18-$24, lunch specials $16.95, family packs $79.95-$109.95), supplemented by catering at $19.65 per person for groups of 10-75, gift card sales, and sauce/merchandise revenue. Pricing is per-transaction with no subscription or recurring contract structure. Target customers are individual and family diners seeking authentic Texas BBQ for casual occasions, plus groups and event organizers using catering and private dining for corporate events, sports viewing, and celebrations. The company has 291 employees and serves North Texas (DFW) and Houston markets, with no disclosed revenue and no outside venture capital or private equity investment. Distribution is regional, digital marketing is handled by Pl8ted Digital Marketing, and the brand's strategic emphasis is on Texas BBQ tradition, multi-decade brand equity, and community/charitable engagement rather than technology differentiation.

Name

Spring Creek Barbeque

Legal name

Spring Creek Barbeque

Website

https://springcreekbarbeque.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Restaurant

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Cafeterias, Grill Buffets, and Buffets (722514)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090), Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products (2013)

akta.pro primary industry

BBQ & Smokehouse Fast Casual (THAFABAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

BBQ Sauce & Marinades Manufacturing (AFAKADAH)

Keywords

• Texas barbeque restaurant
• Slow-smoked meats
• Catering services
• Restaurant chain
• Online food ordering

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Food Sales: Revenue from dine-in and dine-out sales of smoked meats, BBQ plates, sandwiches, salads, and sides at restaurant locations across North Texas.
2. Catering Services: Full-service catering for private dining rooms (50-60 people, free with meal purchase) and off-site catering for events and gatherings.
3. Online Ordering & Delivery: Direct online ordering through website and mobile app, with DoorDash partnership for delivery services.
4. Merchandise - Sauces: Sales of proprietary BBQ sauces (Classic and Carolina-style) in 18-oz bottles at $5.95 each, plus gift boxes. All profits donated to education-based charities.
5. Gift Cards: Gift card sales at restaurant locations and through corporate office phone orders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Spring Creek Barbeque operates a casual dining Texas BBQ restaurant chain serving hickory-smoked and chargrilled meats (brisket, ribs, pulled pork, sausage, turkey, chicken) with homestyle sides. The company offers dine-in at multiple Texas locations, online ordering via website and mobile app, DoorDash delivery, full-service catering for events, signature bottled BBQ sauces, and gift cards under the Carroll Family Restaurants group.

Product overview

Spring Creek Barbeque is a Texas barbecue restaurant chain operating since 1980, offering a unified dining experience centered around slow-smoked meats. The company's product portfolio includes the core restaurant service with buffet-style dining, complemented by digital ordering channels (mobile app for iOS/Android and web-based ordering at order.springcreekbarbeque.com), catering services for events, the 'Que Rewards loyalty program for customer retention, packaged BBQ sauces (Classic and Carolina-style) sold at locations and for shipping, and gift cards. All offerings are integrated through their online platforms and shared loyalty infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Spring Creek's Classic BBQ Sauce: Secret recipe BBQ sauce served since 1980
• Spring Creek's Carolina-style Pork Sauce

Products and services

• Spring Creek Barbeque Restaurant Dining
• Catering Services
• BBQ Sauces

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• DoorDashcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDoorDash partnership enables delivery services to customers who prefer enjoying Spring Creek BBQ at home. Customers can order through DoorDash for contactless delivery, extending the restaurant's reach beyond dine-in and carry-out.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Saltgrass Steak House: Texas-based casual dining chain owned by Landry's, offering steaks, ribs, and BBQ items. Competes for similar Texas casual-dining occasions in overlapping Houston/DFW markets.
• Bill Miller Bar-B-Q: Large privately held Texas BBQ chain concentrated in San Antonio and South Texas. Direct competitor in the same Texas BBQ category with similar menu and family-dining positioning.
• Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q: Texas-based BBQ chain with multiple locations across the state. Highly comparable BBQ dining experience and brand positioning, competing in overlapping Texas geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Texas Roadhouse: Large national casual dining steakhouse chain with broad menu including smoked meats. Competes with Spring Creek for casual family dining occasions in Texas markets.
• Pappadeaux / Pappas Restaurants: Large Houston-based family restaurant group operating multiple casual dining concepts. Comparable as a multi-brand Texas family dining operator with shared back-office and supply scale.

Direct peers

• Mission BBQ: Multi-unit BBQ chain focused on dine-in and catering with a strong community/charity identity. Comparable casual dining BBQ format and similar mission-driven brand narrative.
• Dickey's Barbecue Pit: The largest BBQ franchise chain in the U.S. with hundreds of locations across most states. Directly comparable to Spring Creek as a multi-unit Texas-style BBQ concept with dine-in, catering, and to-go sales.
• Famous Dave's: National BBQ casual dining chain offering hickory-smoked meats, sides, and catering. Comparable to Spring Creek in menu, service model, and target family/group customer base.
• Sonny's BBQ: Southeastern U.S. BBQ chain with dine-in, catering, and to-go operations. Comparable casual dining format and family/group customer focus, though concentrated in Florida/Georgia rather than Texas.

Emerging players

• Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: Northeast-based BBQ restaurant group with catering and a small footprint. Comparable BBQ product and catering-led business model, though at smaller scale and different geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/springcreekbbq
• Facebookfacebook.com/springcreekbarbeque
• Instagraminstagram.com/springcreek_bbq
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spring-creek-barbeque

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Spring Creek Barbeque