TV Restaurants

What Happened to Famous Dave's BBQ and Blues After Food Paradise?

Food Paradise, Season 1 Minneapolis, Minnesota

Current status

Closed

As of October 2026, Famous Dave's BBQ and Blues has closed — confirmed via Yelp, September 2026.

What the source shows: A Yelp listing for the 800 W Lake St location, updated in September 2026, lists it as closed, and CBS News reported on 2019-07-12 that the chain's original Calhoun Square location, which later moved to that address, had already closed. How we decide a status →

What happened after Food Paradise?

Food Paradise's "Ribs Paradise" (Season 1, Episode 11) featured Famous Dave's BBQ & Blues, a barbecue-and-live-music restaurant that operated in the Calhoun Square retail center in Minneapolis's Uptown neighborhood from 1996, part of the barbecue chain founded near Hayward, Wisconsin, in 1994 by Dave Anderson, according to Wikipedia. CBS News reported on 2019-07-12 that the Calhoun Square restaurant closed permanently as the chain planned to move to a smaller-footprint location nearby. Famous Dave's later reopened at 800 West Lake Street, but a Yelp listing for that address, updated in September 2026, now lists it as closed as well, according to Yelp. Famous Dave's continues to operate other Twin Cities and nationwide locations, including one in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood, according to the chain's own website. No reopening of an Uptown Minneapolis location has been reported since.

The episode Food Paradise, Season 1

Episode 11
Air date not confirmed
Title: Ribs Paradise · What was featured: Famous Dave's BBQ and Blues' smoked ribs with live blues
How Food Paradise restaurants have fared: 27% closed →

Also in Season 1 Food Paradise

Season 1: 85 of 114 still open · 3 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 15 Season 1 episodes →

Nearest open restaurants By distance from 800 W Lake St

All 95 TV restaurants in Minnesota →

Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 3 references

  1. Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/famous-daves-minneapolis-7
  2. cbsnews.com https://cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/report-famous-daves-in-uptown-permanently-closed
  3. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famous_Dave%27s
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Record fp-0083 · checked by Cal Marchetti.