Blue Ribbon BBQ to Open in Dedham Next Month

Boston-based barbecue buffs will soon have another joint at which to gorge, albeit a bit outside the city: Blue Ribbon BBQ is opening a new location in Dedham this November. The expansion was first announced at the end of 2016. Co-founder and partner Ron Stoloff said the new restaurant will offer all the same menu items as the locations in West Newton and Arlington — pulled pork and burnt ends, anyone? — but that the Dedham space will have significantly more seating.

“We’ve always been about counter service with limited seating,” Stoloff told Eater. “The Dedham location will still have counter service, but we’ll have up to 60 seats. It will be a bit of a different feel as far as the dining experience goes.”

Blue Ribbon is currently waiting on various permits from Dedham, but Stoloff says construction is under way and that the plan is to open in mid-November.

“We’re banging nails and sawing wood,” said Stoloff. “Of course, these things rarely go exactly according to plan, but we’re knocking on wood. Things seem to be going well, all things considered.”

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater Boston

Stoloff also said that Blue Ribbon was approached to open a shop in Natick Center, and that they’d “gone far down the rabbit hole considering it,” but that ultimately the project fell through.

“That doesn’t mean Natick won’t happen in the future,” said Stoloff. “We’re all about small, hometown communities, and Natick fits that bill. It just doesn’t look like it will happen imminently.”

So no Natick for now, but definitely Dedham. And if construction stays on track — and Dedham grants Blue Ribbon BBQ its permits — Thanksgiving will be an afterthought in Greater Boston.

• 20 Years of Pulled Pork, Burnt Ends, and Suburban Barbecue at Blue Ribbon BBQ [EBOS]
• Blue Ribbon BBQ Is Expanding to Dedham [EBOS]