Famous Dave’s Welcomes World Champion Pitmaster, Travis Clark, to Lead Culinary and Menu Innovation Nationwide

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 16, 2018 -- Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAVE) announced today that Travis Clark, the winningest Pitmaster in the Kansas City BBQ Society (KCBS) since 2013, has joined the Company in the newly created role of National Pitmaster.  Mr. Clark will be responsible for overseeing culinary development and menu innovation, as well as ensuring recipe quality and excellence at all Famous Dave’s restaurants.

Mr. Clark is highly respected as a top Pitmaster in the nation and has won numerous BBQ competitions and awards. Mr. Clark and his team, Clark Crew BBQ, hold the prestigious title of 2017 American Royal Invitational World Champion, as well as the distinction of consecutively winning the most KCBS awards for the past four years.  Other 2017 honors include winning KCBS Team of the Year for the second time (2017 & 2015), Rib Team of the Year, and Brisket Team of the Year.

Mr. Clark and his team have logged over 160,000 miles to compete in 160 contests against BBQ’s Best of the Best. The team’s awards include 41 Grand Championships, 20 Reserve Grand Championships and 130 Top 10 Overall Finishes. In addition to competing, Clark Crew BBQ offers BBQ classes to share their culinary expertise with students of all ages.

Famous Dave’s CEO Jeff Crivello said, “We are delighted to welcome Travis Clark in his new role as National Pitmaster.  Travis will work closely with the team and our award-winning founder ‘Famous Dave Anderson’ to continue to bring innovation and excellence to our menu. No one has won more BBQ awards than Travis in the past four years from the Kansas City BBQ Society, which sanctions and judges BBQ competitions in the U.S. and is the world’s largest organization of barbeque and grilling enthusiasts.”

Travis Clark commented, “I have been a fan of Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que for years, and it is an honor to have the opportunity to work alongside the team. It is exciting to think that I will be working alongside BBQ Hall of Famer, Dave Anderson, to collaborate on menu innovation, as well as deliver high quality standards and exceed the expectations of our Guests.”

About Famous Dave’s

Famous Dave's of America, Inc. (NASDAQ:DAVE) was founded by 'Famous Dave’ Anderson, whose passion for BBQ led him on a 25-year cross-country trek to find the best regional BBQ recipes in the country before opening the first Famous Dave's in Hayward, Wisconsin. As of January 16, 2018, Famous Dave’s has 151 locations in 32 states and three countries including 16 company-owned and 135 franchise-operated restaurants. Famous Dave’s is known for its on-premise real pit smokers, scratch-recipe cooking, and 700 national and regional awards for everything from best ribs to best Bar-B-Que sauce to best cookbook. Famous Dave’s offers a wide variety of BBQ favorites including signature award-winning St. Louis-Style Ribs, Texas Beef Brisket, Georgia Chopped Pork, and Country-Roasted Chicken.  Each seasoning blend was personally developed by Dave himself, after years of research and development to bring flavorful and authentic BBQ to his Guests.  Scratch-recipes round out the menu with delicious sides and desserts that include meaty Wilbur Beans, Drunkin' Apples, and Dave’s Famous Bread Pudding.

For more information, please visit www.famousdaves.com.

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical, including but not limited to statements regarding the timing of our restaurant openings and the timing or success of our expansion plans, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, which may cause the company's actual results to differ materially from expected results. Although Famous Dave's of America, Inc. believes the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectation will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Famous Dave's expectation include financial performance, restaurant industry conditions, execution of restaurant development and construction programs, franchisee performance, changes in local or national economic conditions, availability of financing, governmental approvals and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's SEC reports.

Note to Editors: Contact Jean Golden (612-385-2324 or [email protected]) for interviews, photography and other requests.