While some wring their hands over Maurine Dickey’s visceral reaction to the current travails of her fellow county commissioner John Wiley Price, few seem bothered about a call by Price’s aide for a boycott of the Dickey family barbecue eateries he’s dubbed “D.E.A.D.”–short for, Don’t Eat at Dickey’s. One exception is blogger Tom McGregor, who’s likened the name to a death threat. While it may not be exactly that, it is a thuggish tack. And maybe that’s why few are surprised and reacting.
Meantime, the D.E.A.D. campaign doesn’t seem to be affecting sales at the Dallas-based family-run chain. Asked if he’s noticed the boycott, company chairman Roland Dickey Sr., who’s married to Maurine, replied, “No. Zero. No impact from it. It’s a free country, though. They can do anything they want,” Dickey said in a call from Savannah, Ga., where he’ll open the company’s 152nd store tomorrow. “I only met John Wiley Price once, and he seemed like a nice guy. Turns out both our mothers started out as maids, or housekeepers. But, him and my wife are from different political parties, and they’re always taking shots at each other.”
