1 week Ago By Jeff Kiger
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. ADVERTISEMENT “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. 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.
ADVERTISEMENT.
