Famous Dave’s Restaurateur Pitches Redevelopment of Al Capone Hideout

Posted on: February 10, 2025, 10:37h. 

Last updated on: February 10, 2025, 10:48h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

The man behind the Famous Dave’s barbecue restaurant chain is ready to fire up his next big idea — a high-stakes casino and lodge on tribal land in Wisconsin.

Al Capone Wisconsin hideout Famous Dave's
The rumored Wisconsin hideout of Al Capone is being targeted for redevelopment. The pitch includes renovating the mobster’s former stone lodge into a lakefront high-stakes casino. (Image: Casino.org)

Dave Anderson, a tribal member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Indians who oversaw the US government’s Bureau of Indian Affairs under President George W. Bush, has a plan for the more than 400 acres of forest located within the tribe’s sovereign reservation that was rumored to be once owned by the notorious mobster Al Capone. Dubbed Al Capone’s Hideout, the 407-acre property includes the 32-acre Lake Pine along with 11 buildings, with one being a stone lodge whispered to be where the Chicago Outfit boss took refuge from the Windy City.

Anderson has pitched the tribal government on the redevelopment of the property into a high-stakes casino and a fine-dining restaurant with ingredients sourced locally, a winery, a brewery, and a prohibition-style speakeasy where such drinks would be consumed. On-site lodging would also be in the cards.

This new casino would be aimed at attracting high rollers,” Anderson explained. “I will build the tribe a restaurant of Famous Dave’s quality where everything is served fresh. We would have fresh vegetables from local farmers, an award-winning winery, and a high-quality wine room.”

The Lake Pine property was sold to the tribe in 2009 for $2.8 million. Being located within the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation, the land was subsequently deemed sovereign after it was taken into the federal trust.

High-Stakes Gambling

Anderson is encouraging the Lac Courte Oreilles tribe to shutter its Grindstone Creek Casino, a small tribal casino with 115 slot machines and a quick-serve restaurant, in favor of a high-stakes gaming facility in Pine Lake. Grindstone primarily caters to low-stakes slots players.

Anderson believes pairing a VIP casino with the notoriety and fascination of Al Capone will attract wealthier travelers to the tribe’s reservation, which is about 100 air miles northeast of Minneapolis/St. Paul, 250 miles northwest of Milwaukee, and 325 miles northwest of Chicago. The tribe hasn’t yet commented publicly on Anderson’s casino proposal.

The tribe’s primary economic engine is its Sevenwinds Casino Lodge & Conference Center. The 75-room lodge is complemented by a convention facility that can accommodate up to 900 people, two restaurants, an indoor swimming pool, a golf course designed by Pete Dye, and a casino floor with 600 slots, a poker room, and several table games. No sports betting is available, as Wisconsin remains an outlier in the US in maintaining a prohibition on sports gambling.

Famous Dave

Anderson is among the tribe’s most renowned and successful members.

In June 1994, Anderson founded Famous Dave’s in Hayward just west of the tribe’s reservation. After opening several additional locations in Wisconsin, Anderson took the company public in 1996 as BBQ Holdings, a decision he would later say was “the worst decision” of his life.

Anderson stepped down as CEO of the restaurant chain in 1997 but remained its chairman until 2003. Famous Dave’s and BBQ Holdings was sold in 2022 to Montreal-based MTY Food Group for about $200 million.