Famous Dave's next 'Big Dream' in the food scene... not BBQ (2024)

HAYWARD, Wis. — If you grew up around the Midwest it's likely that you've heard of or eaten at a Famous Dave's restaurant.

The man behind this BBQ staple - Famous Dave himself - Dave Anderson has been busy up in Hayward, Wisconsin starting his next "Big Dream" and it has nothing to do with BBQ.

Dave tells us it's been all about the BBQ ever since he can remember.

"When people ask me 'Dave how did you ever get into the BBQ business?' I can honestly say I never got into BBQ more than I was born into it," Dave said.

To us, he's Famous Dave - a champion Pitmaster known for his award-winning BBQ. But for Dave Anderson, he tells us that it all started from humble beginnings.

"I think the story of Famous Dave's really gets its start from my parents because the whole passion of love and BBQ started with my dad," Dave said. "My dad is a full-blood Choctaw Indian from Idabel, Oklahoma. My mom is from Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation in Hayward, Wisconsin which is right here."

Dave's parents met at an Indian Boarding school in Kansas and later moved to Chicago where Dave got his first taste of what would ultimately be his destiny.

"I can remember him opening up this newspaper rack of ribs and my dad took one and handed it to me," Dave said. "The first time I tasted that smokey, juicy, fall-off-the-bone rib, I knew right then and there I was going to have to learn how to make ribs like that."

That's exactly what he did, learning southern BBQ from his dad, how to cook from his mom and getting business basics from Powwows. Dave's focus for the next 20 years was working on perfecting every BBQ recipe, which led to Dave opening his first Famous Dave's restaurant in Hayward, Wisconsin in 1994.

"This is where I really believe that the story of Famous Dave's is that you never give up on your dreams, and because I stayed with that dream, and got that BBQ joint built in beautiful Hayward, God's country, by the end of that first summer we were serving over 6,000 people a week!"

Business was booming but behind the scenes, Dave was struggling with an alcohol addiction.

"Famous Dave's got started and we were about a year open and my wife came to me and said, 'Dave, Famous Dave's is never going to be around if you don't get sober,'" Dave said. "That was probably the best decision I have ever made in my life and I have been sober now 28 years - it's been a great 28 years."

Once sober, he was laser-focused on expanding his restaurant chain.

"I think at the height of Famous Dave's, we almost had 200 Famous Dave's that stretched all the way from Oregon to California to Washington D.C. everything from Chicago down to Texas."

Famous Dave's became a publicly traded company and was sold last year to a Canadian restaurant group who bought it for $200 million.

"I'm often asked, 'Are you still part of Famous Dave's?' Well, I don't think they can get rid of this," Dave said. "After all, I am Famous Dave. I still help out with recipes. I help with different type of promotions and anything I can do to support Famous Dave's you will find my smiley face."

Although his original rib shack in Hayward was lost in a fire back in 2014, Dave is embarking on a new venture in the same town just with a different concept.

"It turns out all of these years making BBQ sauce with natural fruit juices that I have become an award-winning winemaker," Dave said.

Dave's family farm in Hayward grows not only fresh fruit for wine but also fresh veggies for Dave's other passion - pizza.

"I grew up not only loving the BBQ in Chicago but I also grew up loving the best pizza because Chicago is a great pizza town," Dave said. "All of the years I was working to make the best ribs, I was also playing around with making the best pizza."

"I think you are witnessing the launch of America's next best pizza concept," Dave said.

If the parking lot and long lines are any indication, Dave said they usually sell out.

The butter-kissed crust pizza may be Hayward's best-known secret but Dave is hoping to expand and inspire others to "dream big."

"Tamarack Farms Pizza will become 'Big Dreams Pizza' and then we are going to franchise it all over America," Dave said. "We see us having over 2,000 pizza restaurants in every town in every city in America, everybody is going to love 'Big Dreams Pizza' because it's the only pizza that inspires young people to have their own big dreams and here in America anything is possible."

Tamarack Farms still sells Dave's BBQ but the pizza and wine are the big draw.

Dave says he and his business partner are currently looking for places in the Twin Cities for their first "Big Dreams Pizza," where they will share awe-inspiring stories from people who had the odds stacked against them and then persevered.

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