The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 20 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Famous Dave's Board Refused to Give the Founder a Seat in 2005
“Yes, that's one of the unfortunate things of publicly traded companies. They felt they didn't need me, you know.”
Anderson: Taking Famous Dave's Public Was the Worst Mistake of My Life
“I think that was one of the worst mistakes of my life, going public, because I didn't realize that when you go public, you don't own it anymore.”
Former McDonald's CEO Tried to Turn Famous Dave's Into a 'McRib'
“He tried to turn Famous Dave's into a McRib. Got rid of a lot of the history of Famous Dave's. There was a lot of fun antiques that were part of the decor. He started pulling the stuff off the walls. He started getting rid of you know, our honey buttered cornb…”
Anderson Severed All Legal and Financial Ties With Famous Dave's in 2014
“I basically, emotionally, legally, financially, was separated out of Famous Dave's.”
Founders Lose Commercial Ownership of Their Name After an Eponymous IPO
“Well, you know, one of the things I didn't realize is that when the company went public is you don't own your name anymore.”
Only a Few Native American Tribes Achieved Significant Wealth From Gaming
“There's a lot of small tribes that have small gaming enterprises, but the one thing they're able to do is keep people employed. And there's probably only a handful of tribes that really have come into significant wealth.”
Anderson Regrets Not Fighting Corporate Management to Keep a Smaller Footprint
“And today I wish I had fought harder. And I had trusted my gut more, because I would have stayed to the smaller footprints, and I would have stayed to a smaller core menu.”
Margin Calls Wiped Out Most of Dave Anderson's Equity in Famous Dave's
“Well, there were times when Famous Days had its lows, where I put up my stock as a collateral, and there were margin calls, and by time things were where they were, there wasn't much left.”
Reagan Commission Ranked Anderson's Tribal Turnaround Among Top Eight Nationally
“Within three years we turned around all the businesses, we're now making money, we now have accountability, and we got recognized by President Reagan's Commission on Indian Reservation Economies as being one of the top eight Most progressive tribes in the coun…”
Anderson Took Grand Casinos Public and Built the Las Vegas Stratosphere
“We actually took Grand Casinos public. So that's the first time I was part of a company that went public. And we went on to build eight casinos all over the country. In fact also built Stratosphere.”
A Printer Error Accidentally Created the Name 'Famous Dave's'
“Well, the road to Famous Dave's, not only are we in a small town, but I was also eight miles out of town, and on the road out of town, there's like Dave's Guns, Dave's Antiques, Dave's Boats, so I was going to name my place Dave's Famous Barbecue Shack. We're …”
Original Famous Dave's Served 6,000 Weekly Customers Without Any Paid Advertising
“Even though I never advertised, it wasn't but months that the word quickly has spread throughout Wisconsin, and even as far away as Iowa. I mean, we're serving 6000 people a week”
Famous Dave's 1996 IPO Was Priced at $6 but Opened at $11
“We were supposed to open up at six dollars. We ended up opening at 11.”
Bureau of Indian Affairs Placed Anderson's Parents in Boarding Schools
“Both of my parents, I think is, you know, the unfortunate part of my story, were taken by the Bureau of Indian Affairs away from their families and stuck in Indian boarding schools, basically making orphans out of them.”
Anderson Paid $2,500 to Join an MLM Fuel Additive Business in 1971
“And it cost 2500 dollars to join.”
Anderson Sold Terrariums to Almost Every Major Florist in Chicago
“So after that first
Summer, I had almost every major retail florist in the city of Chicago.”
Bank President Granted Anderson a $10,000 Signature Loan Without Collateral
“And with that, he wrote out a check for 10,000 dollars on my signature loan.”
The 1979 Chicago Blizzard Bankrupted Anderson's Early Terrarium Business
“It was just so tough that because of the snowstorm, I ended up going bankrupt. Lost everything because of that.”
Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Enterprises Were Losing Over $500,000 Annually
“We were losing money like water flowing out of a sieve. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, easily a half a million dollars a year we were losing.”
Jeff Crivello Was the First CEO to Bring Anderson Back to Board
“Today, there's without a doubt, Jeff listens to me.
Jeff is the first CEO that actually brought me back to the board and said, you know, the board needs to hear your ideas, Dave, because after all, you know, I, I'm one of the few barbecue restaurant owners th…”