National barbecue chain Famous Dave’s will open a ghost kitchen in Cedar Rapids Wednesday — allowing customers to order to-go or delivery — without a traditional brick-and-mortar location.
Granite City Brewing’s Cedar Rapids location, at 4755 First Ave. SE, also will make Famous Dave’s barbecue items.
Customers or food delivery drivers then can pick up the order at Granite City.
Customers can order using the Famous Dave’s app on their mobile device or visit famousdaves.com/cedar-rapids to see the menu, hours and phone number.
Before the pandemic, half of Famous Dave’s customers had their meals outside the brick-and-mortar restaurants, said Adam Lehr, Granite City’s vice president of operations.
Granite City Brewing, on the other hand, relied heavily on dine-in orders.
When the pandemic hit, Lehr said the Granite City kitchens no longer were operating at “maximum capacity.”
Minnesota-based BBQ Holdings owns both restaurant chains.
“That cook that is also cooking flatbreads for Granite City can also take care of a slab of ribs at the same time,” Lehr told The Gazette.
Lehr said the ghost kitchen will not drastically affect Granite City’s dine-in experience.
“You might smell barbecue,” Lehr said with a laugh. “Granite City will continue to execute as it always has, with great food and great drinks.”
Famous Dave’s has locations in Cedar Falls, Des Moines, Davenport and Sioux City.
“We obviously will always look for expansion,” Lehr said.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT
“But right now we’re going to do Cedar Rapids first, make sure that goes off successfully and then we’ll talk about additional growth after that.”
Comments: (319) 398-8394; john.steppe@thegazette.com