God’s amazing blessings upon life-long friends produced this restaurant management company in the fall of 2001.  Today, Famous Five Dining employs over 400 people in five different Famous Dave’s restaurants in Tennessee.  Five values are our name:  Faith, Family, Friends and Famous Food . ( To our way of thinking, “Famous” is a value unto itself!)  When you proclaim them by name, you better live them well.  That’s why we operate our business by what we call the “FD Rule”:  Treat others BETTER than they expect to be treated.  We trust our “family” of employees and the Guests who become our “friends” will feel at home in our restaurants.  More importantly, we trust that God will be honored by how we care for His blessings.

Mike & Tamara Lister ~ Doug & Laurel Renegar

About Famous Five Dining:

Two husband/wife teams lead the company.  The ladies were best friends in high school.  The guys were fraternity brothers who worked their way through college serving tables in the same restaurant.  Mike and Tamara started dating the night Doug and Laurel got married.  Twenty years later, they pooled their resources, moved their families to Nashville and formed Famous Five Dining.

Famous Five Dining, Inc. has the rights to franchise “Famous Dave’s Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que” throughout Central & East Tennessee and parts of North Georgia. Currently, it operates Famous Dave’s restaurants in Hermitage, Franklin, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Smyrna, Tennessee.

Owners Mike and Tamara Lister, and Doug and Laurel Renegar have over 70 years of combined experience in the industry.  Mike formerly served Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. as its Senior Vice President of Operations, helping grow the company from 4 to 50 restaurants.  Doug most recently served as the Franchise Business Coach of Kentucky Fried Chicken, consulting with 35 franchise companies in the Southeast.  Previously he was a Director of Operations for KFC.  Together, Doug and Mike handle operations and future growth for the company.  Laurel Renegar, who serves as Chief Financial Officer, has her master’s degree in finance and honed her talents in the health care field before turning to restaurants. Tamara Lister handles both marketing and human resources.  She worked in the television industry as a news anchor and reporter before plying her skills in the Hospitality Industry.

Chris Benner, long-time friend and associate of the Listers and Renegars, is the company’s Director of Operations, supervising the day-to-day functions of the business. Chris was an Area Director for Famous Dave’s of America prior to joining Famous Five Dining.

Our Hermitage, Tennessee (a suburb of Nashville ) restaurant opened in December 2001.  The Knoxville restaurant at I-40 and Cedar Bluff Road (officially 208 Advantage Place) opened in December 2002.  This was followed by the Chattanooga location less than 3 months later. Franklin, TN became home to a Famous Five Dining restaurant in December 2003, located near the Cool Springs Galleria. Our Smyrna, TN restaurant is located just off Sam Ridley Parkway and I-24 and opened in June 2006. To date, the restaurants are performing well financially and earning local recognition as well. 

Included in the “honors” list:

The accolades don’t stop there.  Famous Five Dining has three times been awarded the Enduring Flame Award, which celebrates our commitment to culture and employee development. The company has also received Famous Dave’s first Community Service Award in 2007, and was again named for that honor in 2008 & 2009 for FFD’s contribution to and support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and other organizations that make our communities stronger. Individually, the Hermitage restaurant was selected Rookie Restaurant of the Year and Franchise Restaurant of the Year by Famous Dave’s of America in 2002. In 2003, it was named Restaurant of the Year among all restaurants in the system. The Rookie honor went to the Chattanooga restaurant in 2003.  And on top of that, Famous Five Dining was named Famous Dave’s Franchisee of the Year for 2003, 2004 and again in 2009.

Famous Five Dining believes that God has provided the opportunity for Famous Dave’s to operate in Tennessee, and the owners therefore seek opportunities to do for others. Each fall, the company hosts a golf tournament to benefit the Make A Wish Foundation, and encourages participation in many local events that help grant wishes for children facing life-threatening illnesses. The company has raised over $150,000 for Make-A-Wish to date. Additionally, each Memorial weekend, the company spearheads "Operations Famous Salute" in each of its restaurants… inviting Guests, employees and neighbors to write letters to soldiers serving overseas. Famous Five takes care of the postage! . And, each restaurant provides thousands of dollars of support for local schools, charities and community organizations each year.

The commitment to family and friends extends to those who operate the company on a daily basis, and provide focus for what happens next. Rick Lister, Mike’s brother, is General Manager in Chattanooga. He was FFD’s first employee and helped open its first restaurant. Tim Burress brings a long family friendship and many years of management experience to our Knoxville restaurant. Dan Ogg guides the Smyrna restaurant, which expects to enjoy great growth as the commercial center around the restaurant develops. Jamey Tidwell is our newest General Manager, overseeing operations at our Cool Springs restaurant. Director of Operations Chris Benner is presently focusing additional attention to our Hermitage location as he prepares the next generation of leadership for our company. Famous Five Dining appreciates the passion and commitment each person brings to the company, our Guests and our fellow employees.

Famous Five Dining, Inc. is a privately held company.

Famous Five Dining is a Franchisee of Famous Dave's of America
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