Joe's Kansas City BBQ

An iconic green-and-white gas station at the corner of 47th Avenue and Mission Road in Kansas City, KS, has been an essential Kansas City barbecue stop since 1997. Jeff and Joy Stehney originally opened this barbecue joint that year as the second restaurant in the Oklahoma Joe’s franchise, which they co-founded with Joe Don Davidson in Stillwater, OK. But when Davidson sold his business, the Stehneys bought his share of the company and started Joe’s Kansas City BBQ, a new and unmissable part of Kansas City’s long barbecue tradition.

Jeff and Joy Stehney didn’t set out to create a barbecue restaurant. After attending a barbecue competition in 1990, the couple fell in love with the food and camaraderie they found there, and simply wanted to extend that experience by starting a barbecue competition team. Purchasing a smoker and gathering a few friends, they did just that, dubbing themselves “Slaughterhouse Five.”

The Stehney’s team won so many contests that people started asking them to cook barbecue for weddings and other special events. Jeff and Joy refused at first; they were in the restaurant industry and knew how much work creating their own establishment would be. Then they met Joe Don Davidson, founder and owner of the Oklahoma Joe's Smoker Company, on the competition circuit, and decided to risk it. They opened the first Oklahoma Joe’s restaurant with Davidson in 1996 in Stillwater, OK.

The next year, Jeff and Joy purchased a gas station at the corner of 47th Avenue and Mission Road in Kansas City, Kansas, not far from their home, when the owner of the station decided to close the fried chicken counter he’d been operating inside. In 1997, Joe Davidson sold his smoker business. The Stillwater restaurant closed shortly after, and Jeff and Joy bought out Davisson’s share of their Kansas City restaurant. Joe’s Kansas City BBQ was born, and the Stehneys been the only owners since then.

Jeff and Joy aren’t interested in becoming the biggest barbecue restaurant in the city, and they’re aware of their unique role in the Kansas City barbecue tradition, which stretches back over a century. They now own three Joe’s locations and The 180 Room, a private dining and event space, and still love showing up to work each day, drawn by the same flames and flavors as their first competition.

Our Story, Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que. Accessed July 17th, 2024. https://www.joeskc.com/pages/our-story.