A look at Famous Dave’s new attempt at fast-casual

As purchases for eating off-premise continue to be a key sales driver for Famous Dave’s, the casual-dining chain is testing a new fast-casual store in Tucson, Ariz., said CEO Jeff Crivello, who took that position in mid-November 2017.

In the past, the brand toyed with various limited-service models in Minnesota, California , Oregon and Pennsylvania. All were done approximately 7-10 years ago, veteran Famous Dave’s franchisee and board member Anand Gala told Nation’s Restaurant News.

“Each looked and felt like a full-service location, but required the guests to order at the counter,” Gala said. “There was not enough of a differentiation from the full-service prototype and this led to confusion amongst the guests.”

Several of the stores subsequently closed, he said.

CEO Jeff Crivello told Nation’s Restaurant News that the 2,500-square foot restaurant in Tucson is about 4,000 square feet smaller than a standard Famous Dave’s. He said some stores are seeing less dine-in customers, including this franchise location, whose owner closed the casual dining store a few miles away and instead opened this smaller location.

Unlike the previous fast-casual formats, this restaurant has a completely different menu. Famous Dave’s franchisee and board member Anand Gala said the previous models tried to “execute the same menu and portion sizes in a limited-service environment” and that didn’t work.

“The new fast casual prototype is designed differently to help guide the guest through their barbecue journey with the brand. There is a different menu, but we have stayed true to our core with the world's best barbecue,” Gala said.

The smaller restaurant, which seats up to 75 people, has a trimmed down menu and requires less staff. That relieves the growing pressure operators are facing with higher labor and real estate costs, Crivello said.

Unlike other fast-casual formats tested by the brand, this Arizona location was built to cater to the brand’s growing off-premise business.

In the first quarter, Famous Dave’s said dine-in sales dropped by 5.6%, while to-go and catering sales increased by 10.2% and 12.6%, respectively. Takeout and catering represented 39% and 8% of restaurant sales, respectively, in the first quarter. Dine-in sales represented 53% of sales.

The yearlong turnaround effort at Famous Dave's has involved a series of experiments including launching a ghost restaurant, which makes food for delivery only, a massive overhaul of the chain’s menu, including these new cheese curds, and introducing a new limited-service prototype store.

“We believe that our customers and the market [are] finally ready for this [new] format and we remain committed to testing and innovating our brand to find ways to best serve our customers,” franchisee and board member Anand Gala said.

Read more about Famous Dave's fast-casual format here.