Filling Station BBQ

Filling Station BBQ has smoked KC-style barbecue inside a 1930s Texaco station on Lee’s Summit’s Historic Register since 1999 — a quarter century of brisket, house-made sauces, and counter service inside downtown’s most distinctively preserved commercial building.¹

Description

Filling Station BBQ occupies one of Lee’s Summit’s most immediately recognizable structures: a 1930s Texaco gas station in the heart of historic downtown whose original exterior — pump canopy, period signage profile, gas-station proportions — has been preserved through the building’s listing on the Historical Register. The contrast between that architecture and the smell of wood smoke from an on-site Southern Pride smoker is the restaurant’s defining experience.¹²

The building’s life ran from Texaco station to garden shop before being renovated in 1999 into what it is today: a counter-service BBQ joint with indoor seating and outdoor picnic tables. The restaurant smokes all meats fresh on-site and prepares most sides in-house, offering three house-made sauces — regular, sweet, and hot — alongside a brisket sandwich with dry rub and a visible smoke ring that reviewers cite as a consistent benchmark.²

The restaurant is family-owned and operated, currently by Chris and Genni Nudson, Lee’s Summit residents who took ownership after the restaurant’s founding operator Doug Carnes. The “nostalgic” character of the place — the building, the counter service, the picnic tables, the smoker out back — has been maintained continuously since 1999.³

Ownership and history

The building at 333 SE Douglas St was constructed in the 1930s as a Texaco gas station. It later operated as a garden shop before the current commercial use began. The structure is recognized on the Historical Register for its intact period architecture.¹

In 1999, the building was renovated into a BBQ restaurant with the installation of an on-site Southern Pride smoker. The original founder and operator was Doug Carnes, a Lee’s Summit native whose connection to Kansas City barbecue culture shaped the menu and operating philosophy. Carnes described the restaurant as “a uniquely nostalgic family oriented and owned business.”²

Ownership subsequently passed to Chris and Genni Nudson, who reside in Lee’s Summit with their family and continue the family-owned model. The transition date is not publicly documented. The Nudsons have maintained the counter-service format, the on-site smoker, the house-made sauces, and the building’s character.³

As of 2025–2026, the restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM–7 PM (Sunday–Thursday) and 11 AM–8 PM (Friday–Saturday), with Monday closures.³

Links

• Official website: https://fillingstationbbq.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Filling-Station-BBQ-61559479439586/

Sources

Disputes

Ownership succession: Doug Carnes is confirmed as founder/operator as of 2018; Chris and Genni Nudson are confirmed as current owners per the official website (updated 2025). The transition date and circumstances are not publicly documented. No dispute about the 1999 founding year or the Historic Register status of the building. Note: this is NOT the “Filling Station Coffee” in Mission, KS — distinct businesses sharing a partial name.

Footnotes

1. https://joesbarbecuequest.com/2018/05/21/filling-station-bar-b-que-in-lees-summit-missouri/ — Joe’s Barbecue Quest review, May 2018. Asserts: building opened as Texaco gas station in 1930s; became garden shop; renovated into BBQ restaurant 1999 with Southern Pride smoker; original exterior preserved; Historical Register; Doug Carnes owner and Lee’s Summit native; counter service; outdoor picnic tables; dry-rub brisket with smoke ring; three house-made sauces; “uniquely nostalgic family oriented and owned business.” ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. https://joesbarbecuequest.com/2018/05/21/filling-station-bar-b-que-in-lees-summit-missouri/ — Asserts: all meats smoked fresh on-site; most sides homemade; three house-made sauces (regular, sweet, hot); brisket with dry rub and smoke ring; counter ordering; indoor and outdoor patio seating. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. https://fillingstationbbq.com/ and search results updated November 2025. Asserts: current owners Chris and Genni Nudson, Lee’s Summit residents; active and open; 333 SE Douglas St Lee’s Summit MO 64063; current hours. ↩ ↩² ↩³