Famous Dave's near Tucson Mall is moving to midtown

Famous Dave’s closed its Tucson Mall-area restaurant Sunday after 15 years and should get the keys to its new spot at 3007 E. Speedway, near Country Club Road, on Friday, said Guadalupe Flores, regional director for the El Paso, Texas-based franchisee.

Flores, who is based in El Paso and spends one or two days a month at the Tucson restaurant, also oversees the company’s nine other locations, including one in Yuma and four in Las Vegas.

Flores said the move by diners toward takeout and third-party delivery largely drove the decision to switch gears with the Tucson restaurant.

Flores said the restaurant had planned to move from North Oracle Road because repairs to the building would have been too costly. But before it nailed down a new location, word spread among employees who feared their jobs were in jeopardy and many of them quit in the last several weeks, Flores said. When the restaurant closed, the staff was down to 15 employees from its high of 50.

Flores said the restaurant will need to do some minor renovation to the Speedway location, including installing a smoker for the meats.

She said she is hopeful the restaurant will be open by late April.