This profile is in active compilation — some details are awaiting a cited source.

Chop’s BBQ & Catering is a family-owned barbecue restaurant in downtown Smithville, Missouri, opened in 2016 by Dan Ulledahl, a former Kansas City police officer turned pitmaster.

Description

Chop’s BBQ & Catering is a family-owned barbecue restaurant located on East Main Street in downtown Smithville, Missouri, in Clay County north of Kansas City. The restaurant smokes brisket, burnt ends, KC-style pork ribs, pulled pork, sausage, and turkey daily, with thick-cut brisket noted as its signature item. It also operates a catering arm.

The operation is run hands-on by its owners, with the kitchen and front-of-house split between the family. The business grew out of a competition-barbecue background before becoming a brick-and-mortar restaurant.

Ownership and history

Chop’s BBQ & Catering was founded by Dan Ulledahl, who spent roughly 15 years as a Kansas City police officer before turning to barbecue as a second career. The business grew out of his competition barbecue team. He runs the back/kitchen while his wife (reported as Sarah) works the front of the house.

The restaurant opened in 2016 in downtown Smithville. Roughly 12 days after opening, a fire — caused by a smoker parked behind the building when a latch failed — heavily damaged the new restaurant in September 2016. After about four months of cleaning, gutting, and rewiring, Chop’s reopened the week of Christmas 2016. The community-supported recovery from that fire became part of the restaurant’s local story.

Tier classification

Tier 1. Chop’s is a small, owner-operated, family-owned single-location barbecue restaurant with deep KC-metro ties — owner Dan Ulledahl is a longtime Kansas City police officer turned pitmaster who built the business from a local competition team. The hands-on family operation and the community-backed recovery from the 2016 fire reflect strong pride and dedication to KC-area roots, the core of Tier 1.

See also

Sources

  1. Feast Magazine — “Chop’s BBQ & Catering Reopens in Downtown Smithville” — https://www.feastmagazine.com/chops-bbq-catering-reopens-in-downtown-smithville/article_f93d9fd2-0284-11e7-9ee9-7f98e8dafec5.html — accessed 2026-05-30
  2. The Northland News — “Smithville BBQ Owners Turn to Community After Fire at New Restaurant” — http://thenorthlandnews.com/smithville-bbq-owners-turn-community-fire-new-restaurant/ — accessed 2026-05-30
  3. Chop’s BBQ & Catering — homepage — https://www.chopsbbqandcatering.com/ — accessed 2026-05-30
  4. Dan Ulledahl — “Chop’s BBQ & Catering llc” (LinkedIn) — https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-ulledahl-b6229932/ — accessed 2026-05-30

Verification

Drafted 2026-05-30 from web research; 4 sources. Verified: address, founding year (2016 — base data’s “2010s” narrowed to 2016), owner Dan Ulledahl, ex-KCPD background, the 2016 fire and reopening, menu/signature brisket, family-owned status. Flagged: spouse first name (reported as Sarah) rests on a single secondary source.

See also

  • Registry
Categories
  • Locally owned
  • BBQ
  • Ulledahl