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

Hayward’s Pit Bar-B-Que is Johnson County’s oldest family-owned BBQ restaurant — founded in 1972 by Hayward Spears Sr. and now run by Eric Sweeney, who grew up in Overland Park and first stoked Hayward’s fires at age 13. 100% hickory-smoked burnt ends, brisket, and St. Louis ribs at 10901 W. 75th St. in Shawnee.

Description

Hayward’s Pit Bar-B-Que has been firing hickory logs in Johnson County longer than any other family-owned BBQ restaurant in the area. Hayward Spears Sr. came to Kansas City from Hope, Arkansas in 1972 with the American Dream and opened the county’s first BBQ restaurant — a room no bigger than a living room at 95th and Antioch. The restaurant moved corners, expanded, and eventually landed at 10901 W. 75th St. in Shawnee. When Hayward Spears Sr. died in October 2022 at the age of 88, the pit had already been in new hands for nearly a decade. Eric Sweeney grew up in Overland Park and stoked Hayward’s fires for the first time at age 13 — his first job. He spent years in classic Kansas City kitchens (Houston’s, Plaza III, Joe’s Kansas City when it was still Oklahoma Joe’s) before purchasing Hayward’s in 2013, determined to return it to its heyday. His wife, son, and daughter-in-law all work in the business. The menu runs the Kansas City BBQ canon: burnt ends, brisket, St. Louis–style ribs, sausage, half chicken, pit-smoked wings. Every ounce of smoke comes from 100% hickory logs.

Tier classification

Tier 1 — Eric Sweeney grew up in Overland Park, KS. Sweeney is the current owner and grew up in Overland Park, Kansas — squarely within the KC metro.1 He took over Hayward’s in 2013–2014 and is the steward of a 54-year KC institution. Overland Park is part of the KC metro; Tier 1 confirmed for a KC-raised owner. Hayward Spears Sr. (the founder) was from Hope, Arkansas — but the current ownership generation is KC-born/raised. Tier 1 on current-owner-generation grounds.

Last verified: 2026-07-25 · Source: Hayward’s online ordering (SpotOn)2 · menu_status: verified · Confidence: High (full priced menu captured from the restaurant’s own SpotOn ordering platform).

Platters

  • Burnt End Platter — $32.002
  • Burnt Ends & Wing Platter — $30.002
  • Ends & Ends Platter — $30.002
  • Rib & Burnt Ends Platter — $33.002
  • Full Slab Platter — $44.00 · Half Slab Platter — $26.002
  • Half Chicken Platter — $16.002
  • Sausage Platter — $19.002
  • Variety Platter for 1 — $32.00 · for 2 — $44.002
  • Wings & Fries — $20.002
  • Family Platter — $160.002
  • 1/2 Chicken Platter (daily special) — $14.992

Specialty Sandwiches

  • The Royal — $22.002
  • Burnt End Cheddar Melt — $21.002
  • DJ’s Mushroom & Swiss — $21.002
  • Haywards Special — $20.002
  • The BIG Piggy — $18.002
  • Turkey Royal — $18.002
  • Hash Sandwich — $16.002
  • Sweeney’s Southern Pulled Pork Sandwich — $15.002
  • Regular Sandwich — $16.00 · Large Sandwich — $20.002

Ribs & Chicken (à la carte)

  • St. Louis Ribs — Full Slab — $33.00 · Half Slab — $20.002
  • Whole Chicken — $18.00 · Half Chicken — $14.002
  • Build-Your-Own BBQ Bowl — $18.002

Meat / Wings by the count

  • 25 Wings — $37.50 · 50 Wings — $69.992

Appetizers

  • Smoked & Fried Wings — $17.992
  • Loaded Totchos — $16.002
  • Portobello Shrooms — $16.002
  • Buffalo Bites — $15.002
  • Burnt End Mac n Cheese — $14.002
  • Masa Battered Pickle Fries — $14.002
  • Corn Nuggets — $12.002
  • Fresh Fried Okra — $11.00 · World Famous Onion Rings — $11.002

Salads

  • Pit Master Salad — $13.002
  • Haywards House Salad — $10.00 · Caesar Dinner Salad — $10.002

Side Dishes

  • Mac And Cheese — $7.00 · Cheesy Corn Bake — $5.00 · Beans — $6.002
  • Coleslaw — $4.00 · Sweet And Sour Slaw — $4.00 · Potato Salad — $5.002
  • Fries — $5.00 · Sweet Fries — $7.00 · Tater Tots — $5.00 · Fries/Rings — $6.002
  • Onion Rings — $8.00 · Mushroom — $8.00 · Okra — $6.00 · Fried Pickles — $7.00 · Spicy Corn Nuggets — $7.002
  • 1 Rib — $3.00 · 2 Ribs — $6.00 · 3 Chicken Wings — $7.002

Kids Menu (each $8.99)

  • Reilly’s Jr Ribs · Scoops Grilled Cheese · Sween’s Jr Sammy · Kids Mac N Cheese2

Desserts

  • Carrot Cake — $8.00 · Chocolate Cake — $7.00 · Banana Cream Pie — $6.00 · Key Lime Pie — $6.002

Sauce, Family Sides & To-Go

  • Bottle of Sauce — $5.49 · Helga Jar — $4.99 (2 for $8.99, 3 for $12.99)2
  • Half-Pan Fries — $34.99 · Onion Rings — $44.99 · Okra — $49.99 · Salad — $19.992
  • Full-Pan Fries — $59.99 · Onion Rings — $79.99 · Okra — $89.99 · Salad — $34.992
  • Loaf of Toast — $5.99 · Pack of Buns — $5.992
  • To-go extras: Add Cheese $0.69, Extra Bun $0.49, Xtra Sauce/Bread/Onion/Pickles/Ranch/Jalapenos/Horseradish $0.252

Note: burnt ends, brisket, and St. Louis ribs (the hickory-smoked signatures cited in press) anchor the platters and à-la-carte above; every ounce from 100% hickory logs.3

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Eric Sweeney — grew up in Overland Park, KS; first job stoking Hayward’s fires at age 13; worked at Houston’s, Plaza III, Joe’s Kansas City (then Oklahoma Joe’s); purchased Hayward’s 2013–2014. Family operation: wife, son, and daughter-in-law in active roles. Source: Fox4 KC coverage of founder’s death (see 4); 5star365 profile — https://5star365.com/hpb/ — confirms Sweeney purchase and Overland Park upbringing. ↩

  2. Hayward’s Pit Bar-B-Que — official online ordering (SpotOn) — https://order.spoton.com/so-haywards-pit-bbq-and-catering-15015/shawnee-ks/64cd2266f90d7c003db3d787 — Confirms: full priced menu (platters, specialty sandwiches, ribs & chicken, appetizers, salads, sides, kids, desserts, family-size to-go) with per-item prices. First-party SpotOn ordering platform (reached from the “Order Online” link on haywardspitbarbque.com); rendered via Firecrawl. (Accessed 2026-07-25.) ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13 ↩14 ↩15 ↩16 ↩17 ↩18 ↩19 ↩20 ↩21 ↩22 ↩23 ↩24 ↩25 ↩26 ↩27 ↩28 ↩29 ↩30 ↩31 ↩32 ↩33 ↩34 ↩35 ↩36 ↩37 ↩38 ↩39 ↩40 ↩41 ↩42 ↩43 ↩44 ↩45 ↩46 ↩47

  3. Hayward’s Pit Bar-B-Que — haywardspitbarbque.com — confirms address (10901 W. 75th St., Shawnee KS 66214), phone ((913) 451-8080), hours (Mon 11–7, Tue–Thu 11–8, Fri–Sat 11–8:30, Sun 12–7), 100% hickory log fuel, founded 1972, “Johnson County’s Oldest Family Owned BBQ Restaurant,” menu categories (burnt ends, brisket, ribs, sausage, half chicken, wings, fried portabella, sides). (Accessed 2026-06-29.) ↩

  4. Fox4 KC — “Hayward’s Pit BBQ founder, Hayward Spears Sr., dies at 88” — https://fox4kc.com/news/haywards-pit-bbq-founder-hayward-spears-sr-dies-at-88/ — Confirms: Hayward Spears Sr., founder; died October 2022, age 88; from Hope, Arkansas; opened August 19, 1972 at 95th and Antioch (Johnson County’s first BBQ). Also: Johnson County Post — “Hayward Spears, Overland Park BBQ pit master, dies at 88” — https://johnsoncountypost.com/2022/10/13/hayward-spears-overland-park-dies-183781/ ↩

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On the record — ks.city/registry/haywards-pit-bar-b-que · record updated 2026-07-25