New Dual-Concept Woodbury Restaurant Combines BBQ And Happy Hour

WOODBURY, MN— A unique dual-concept restaurant opened on Woodlane Drive in Woodbury on Monday — and business is already booming.

The restaurant combines two local favorites, Famous Dave’s and Cowboy Jack’s, to create a restaurant that combines nearly every aspect of the two of them: Famous Dave’s Cowboy Jack’s.

Adam Lehr, VP of Operations for Famous Dave's, said that the new restaurant is already exceeding sales of the solo locations.

Lehr told Patch that the idea first occurred to him when somebody offered to buy the building that Famous Dave’s was in.

“We’ve had a relationship with Cowboy Jack’s for a couple of years now,” Lehr said. “We then had the opportunity to sell the property that housed Famous Dave’s in Woodbury, and it was an offer that was too good to refuse, but we didn’t want to leave Woodbury.”

Lehr said that representatives from Famous Dave’s then contacted representatives from Cowboy Jack’s and asked if they would be interested in creating a partnership.

The combined menu offers items from both solo restaurants and offers Cowboy Jack’s happy hour and bar, Lehr said.

The process of combining the two restaurants was “seamless,” Lehr told Patch.

“It was kind of like combining families,” Lehr said. “We had some staff from both restaurants that decided to stay that we combined.”

After figuring out staffing, Lehr said the two restaurants worked together to figure out what menu items to keep, and in some instances, combined menu items to create a new recipe.

Before the partnership, only 15 percent of Famous Dave’s sales came from alcohol, but combining with Cowboy Jack’s has brought the total alcohol sales to 40 percent, Lehr said.

Famous Dave’s Cowboy Jack’s offers a happy hour bar scene as well as a quiet dining room area to please customers from each of the solo concepts, Lehr said.

“The benefit is if you’re having a Cowboy Jack’s cocktail, you can also have some phenomenal ribs,” Lehr said. “It’s the best of both worlds and the concepts parallel each other. We really tried to keep the best of both concepts intact.”

Lehr said that Famous Dave’s Cowboy Jack’s has already been extremely busy and is looking to hire more staff. The restaurant is hiring for “any and all” positions.

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