A gift card is only as good as what it buys, and Famous Dave's runs the most expensive menu in national chain barbecue. A $25 card does not cover a slab of ribs. That single fact should shape how much you load, so start with the arithmetic and work backwards.
Famous Dave's prices at a glance
The prices referenced on this page, collected up front. They vary by location and change without notice.
| Card value | What it covers |
|---|---|
| $25 | A Georgia Chopped Pork Platter ($14.29) with a side and a drink. Not a slab of ribs. |
| $50 | One Big Slab of St. Louis spareribs ($36.69), two sides and a drink. |
| $75 | A Feast For 2 ($55.49) plus dessert. |
| $100 | The All-American BBQ Feast at $99.89, almost to the cent. |
| $150 | A family of four or five with appetizers and dessert, tax and tip in. |
What each denomination actually buys
The $100 card is the one to give. It lands within eleven cents of the All-American BBQ Feast — a full slab of ribs, country-roasted chicken, Texas beef brisket, Georgia chopped pork, hot link sausage, sides and corn bread muffins, served on a trash-can lid and feeding six to eight. Nothing else on this menu turns a round number into that much food.
Avoid $25 as a standalone gift. On a menu where the cheapest platter is $14.29 and the brisket sandwich is $18.89, it reads as a partial contribution rather than a meal. If $25 is the budget, a card for somewhere cheaper is the kinder choice.
Where to buy
- famousdaves.com. Physical cards posted, plus eGift cards emailed to the recipient — usually the same day, which makes them the fallback for a forgotten occasion.
- In the restaurant. Any location will sell and load one at the host stand or the bar.
- Third-party retailers. Supermarket and pharmacy gift card racks carry Famous Dave's in many markets, though stock is inconsistent and denominations are limited.
Loadable amounts online typically run from around $10 up to $500 per card. Franchised locations occasionally do not honor cards bought elsewhere, which is rare but worth a phone call before driving a distance to redeem a large balance.
Checking a balance
Three routes, in order of speed: enter the card number and PIN on the gift card page at famousdaves.com; ask at any restaurant, where a server can swipe it and tell you in seconds; or call the number printed on the back of the card. Keep the physical card even after you think it is empty — residual balances of a dollar or two are common and can be stacked against a future check.
Do they expire?
Under federal law, gift card funds cannot expire for at least five years from the date of purchase, and many states are stricter than that. In practice, Famous Dave's cards do not carry an expiry date and are not subject to dormancy fees. Promotional bonus cards are a different matter entirely — those almost always have a printed use-by window measured in weeks, and it is a real deadline.
Bonus card promotions
The chain has run holiday bonus offers in past years — buy a set value in gift cards, receive an additional promotional card free. These typically run from late November through the end of December, and the free card usually cannot be redeemed until January, with an expiry a month or two later.
If you eat here anyway, the effective discount is real: buying $100 in cards to receive $20 back is a 17 percent reduction on money you were going to spend. If you do not, you have prepaid a restaurant. The specials and deals guide tracks what recurs seasonally.
Bulk and corporate orders
Corporate orders — employee recognition, client gifts, event prizes — go through a business ordering channel rather than the retail cart, with volume discounts and custom carriers available. Lead times stretch to a couple of weeks in December, so order early for a holiday party, and weigh cards against feeding people directly through Famous Dave's catering.
Two limitations to know
- Gift cards do not work on third-party delivery apps. DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub will not accept them. Redeem in the restaurant or through Famous Dave's own online ordering.
- They are not reloadable everywhere. Some locations will add value to an existing card, some will issue a new one. Ask rather than assume.
Prices for everything a card has to cover are on the full Famous Dave's menu.