Famous Dave's restaurant plan for Cottage Grove nears council OK

• Famous Dave's

Famous Dave’s, which has a restaurant in Woodbury (pictured here) plans to open a BBQ Shack in the former Kentucky Fried Chicken building in Cottage Grove. Bulletin photo by Jon Avise

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Cottage Grove planning commissioners have signed off on plans to convert an empty fast food restaurant into a Famous Dave’s barbecue restaurant, sending the proposal to the City Council for consideration this month.

The Planning Commission last month recommended approval of the Minnetonka-based barbecue chain’s plans to renovate a vacant former Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant located at 8479 East Point Douglas Road. The plans call for a 3,000-square-foot, 50- to 60-seat Famous Dave’s BBQ Shack that would feature a drive-thru lane for take-out pickup and an outdoor smoker oven.

The proposal requires a conditional use permit to allow beer and liquor to be served in that zoning district. That permit, and the site plan proposal, is subject to City Council approval; the council will take up the issue Sept. 19, city officials said.

It would represent the famous local chain’s first entrance into the Cottage Grove market and would fill a highly-visible restaurant site near the busy intersection of East Point Douglas Road and Jamaica Avenue that has sat empty for nearly a year.

Famous Dave’s has nearly 200 locations in 36 states and one Canadian province, including nearby restaurants in Woodbury and West St. Paul.

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