Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que — Restaurant in Knoxville

My father in law (used to) enjoys coming here on his birthday. We called ahead for seating and requested the back room area we had the year before. We were informed the air condition was out but that accommodating us wouldn't be a problem. When we arrived there were tables pushed together however we were walked over to tables and chairs that hadn't been wiped down in a while. An overhead AC vent was dripping water right behind on of the chairs and pooling in the floor and no wet floor sign posted. Absolutely a liability and looking for someone to slip and fall. Our server was decent considering announcing that she was the only one- in the restaurant. There wasn't any presence of a manager or assistant manager to help carry the weight. Overworking staff only leads to poor service and poor quality food. The chicken tenders my wife got were overcooked and rubbery. I ordered the grilled cheese with the BBQ beef on the side. The waitress asked, "you want the brisket?!" I said, "no, the beef." My 13.00 grilled cheese was served with two pieces of cold brisket that weren't that good. The "sweet tea" was not sweet and was old.

When we came last year we noted that the building needed some outside repairs, paint, replaced rotten wood, trash cleaned up. This year's visit was as if no one has lifted a finger in maintaining the building the last 12 months. The place looks more dilapidated, more trashed, and in more need of fresh paint. That's just on the outside. Inside it just got worse from there. There are booth seats that have 2' squares with duct tape "repairs." The tables we sat at, even after being "wiped" were sticky as well as the chairs. If you leaned back against the chair and leaned forward your shirt would stick to the chair. Upon visiting the bathroom: turn around and just defecate or urinate on yourself. At least you'll know whose germs are on you. The bathroom was deplorable, foul, and will make you lose your appetite. However, when you're understaffed, those who work are underpaid, overworked, and unappreciated then it makes sense that things aren't going to get the attention they need. The waitress has a good attitude about her hood despite not seeming to have any support from any kind of manager to carry the load. There was someone from the kitchen helping running food but he wasn't wearing a hat or hairnet so who knows how role in for prep. There's another reviewer who posted pictures of the inside areas that need repair. Bottom line: the place has needed attention for over a year. Their staff numbers have decreased a lot over the last year. Quality across the board has dropped dramatically. Reviews keep getting stock responses from the "owner" saying repetitive statements like"thank you for bringing this to our attention" and "we hope you will give us another chance." Such a disconnect with the customer when being shown disgusting photos of mold, water damage, and other concerns and the owner shrug it off and say, sorry you feel that way! Come on back and lower your expectations and let us try again. I can't recommend this place to anyone. At this rate not only are we not returning next year to celebrate my father in law but I'll be shocked if they are still in business then. I know the health inspector goes out randomly but is there a tip line to call to help give the place direction on where to tighten up their poor...

Excellent young girl Maddie, working the takeout counter. She's 15 and yet super focused and friendly. She's a doll. I got burgers to go and both were great. We scarfed them down. The sides are just as great. That mac & cheese is incredible, especially with jalapeno and corn mixed in. Wow. That was a first for me, but it's delicious. The other standout is the cornbread muffin. Finally, a place that has good muffins, bc most places make muffins that seem better as a doorstop, dry and tasteless. No thanks. But their muffins are perfectly sweet, just right. So good I didn't even need to add butter. I will definitely return bc their app seems good and just signing up gets you a free burger. Wow. This place won me over and as a Texan native, I'm usually disappointed in anything BBQ or burger. Thanks for the great first impression, my taste buds are appreciative. HOWEVER, the building itself seems grungy and in disrepair. They really should remodel, please update it. The lighting is horrible, too dim, no seating for the long lines that wait to be seated. The lobby is too small and odd shaped. The bar had a wierd, obtuse, huge, distracting white tube thing which was there bc the AC, I heard, was out so the bar was closed. Lots of older people had to stand waiting awhile for a table/booth. The food can't be the only focus, the building itself needs to shine and sparkle and accommodate. Please, bring that building out of the...

The food was good but didn't make up for poor management. I was not impressed with the management. We had received an email from Famous Dave's that advertised half-price appetizer today for Labor Day weekend. When we showed it to her she said that they absolutely we're not doing that and she didn't know where we got it. She implied we had made it up. Now we ordered some of their more pricey food. So saving $5 off an appetizer was not really that big of a deal. It was more how she acting instead of going ahead and honoring the advertisement. She tells us that they absolutely would not honor it and it had to have been from another franchise. So it turns out it was from another franchise so I can understand where the mix-up came from. It was just the way she treated us. I guess I should have known but the service there was not excellent by the fact that on a busy Sunday afternoon Labor Day weekend the place was mostly empty. I won't be going back.

On the bright side though, the food was decent and the waitress was very friendly and helpful. We tipped her well and paid for our food without further complaint. If I were the manager though I would have honored the coupon even though it was from another franchise. It was seriously $5 and would have kept us coming back for...