Chiropractic Practice Moving Into Former Site of Famous Dave’s Restaurant

WAITE PARK -- After over a year on the market, the former home of Famous Dave’s Barbeque Restaurant has a new tenant and plans for a major facelift.

The 6,500 sq. ft. building, located at 310 3rd St. NE in Waite Park, has been leased to Gerhardson Chiropractic.

Owner/chiropractic specialist Dr. Lacie Gerhardson signed a lease for the space in early October after touring numerous St. Cloud area properties.

“The location is great. The parking is great,” Gerhardson said. “The visibility on 3rd Street is just what we were looking for. It definitely wasn’t on our radar, but it kind of fell right into our lap.”

Gerhardson Chiropractic, currently located in St. Cloud’s Midtown Square Mall, was founded in 2018 and employs around 20 people. Gerhardson says she hopes to be seeing patients in the new clinic by Jan. 1, 2021.

“We don’t have an official move-in date,” Gerhardson said. “We do have to do a full renovation, so we have to tear out everything on the inside and rebuild. We’re hoping for about a 12-week timeline but of course with construction, you never know.”

Gerhardson says some of the building’s more memorable features will be removed in coming weeks.

“The bar is still in there,” she said. “There’s that big fireplace right in the middle. Unfortunately, even though we wanted to try and keep some of that, we do have to take out both (the fireplace and the bar.) We have to be mindful that we are a medical clinic, and we have to keep things HIPAA compliant. We have to enclose a lot of spaces, but we’re planning to keep as much natural light and as much openness as we can.”

Gerhardson Chiropractic also plans to open a Foley clinic by Jan. 1.

Famous Dave’s Waite Park restaurant abruptly closed in April of 2019 after 12 years of business. In September, the franchise began offering delivery throughout the St. Cloud area via DoorDash and Food Dudes delivery services.