23-04-2025
Longtime manager is new owner of Rochester's Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que
Apr. 23—ROCHESTER — After working there for 12 years and managing it for eight, Misty Ball is now the local owner of Rochester's Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que restaurant.
Misty and Scott Ball took over ownership of the 27-year-old restaurant at 431 16th Ave. NW on April 1. She stresses that it is now a local family-owned eatery.
"We are locally owned. We are right here. We spend money in the community. It's a franchise, but it is a small business to us," she said. "This is our one and only place, just like a mom-and-pop shop."
When the Twin Cities-based owner decided to retire and asked his general manager if she would like to buy it. "Of course, I said, 'Yes,'" said Ball.
To celebrate the the change, Famous Dave's is hosting a grand opening event on Sunday.
The Balls now own the restaurant, which leases the building from the Utah-based Reagan family. The Reagan family, which also owns Reagan Outdoor Advertising, purchased the Famous Dave's building and the adjacent Med City Inn & Suites for $4.25 million in 2023.
Famous Dave's built and opened the 7,800-square-foot restaurant in 1998 as a corporate-owned location. It was later sold to an original employee of the location as a franchisee. The brand now has 12 locations in Minnesota.
Since Ball has managed the restaurant for many years, she doesn't have any immediate changes planned other than a refresh of the patio and working to grow the catering side of the business. She's keeping her current team of 25 employees in place. The menu with its pit-smoked barbecue ribs will not change, though Ball is considering bringing back some popular items in the future.
She believes this change will be a benefit when dealing with customers.
"Now I can say, 'My name is Missy. I'm the owner. Let me help you with this problem, or let me help you with your catering,'" said Ball.
