Jess & Jim's Steakhouse

Jess & Jim’s Steakhouse is Kansas City’s oldest surviving independent steakhouse — open since April 1938 in Martin City — and the birthplace of the 25-oz “Playboy Strip,” the house cut that food writer Calvin Trillin called the best steak in the world.¹²

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Description

Jess & Jim’s Steakhouse has anchored Martin City’s dining identity since April 1938, making it one of the twelve oldest steakhouses in the United States and the oldest continuously operating independent steakhouse in Kansas City.¹² The restaurant is instantly recognizable by the giant black fiberglass bull mounted atop its brick building at 135th and Holmes — a landmark for southside Kansas City diners across generations.³

The house specialty is the Playboy Strip, a 25-ounce Kansas City strip steak named in honor of Calvin Trillin’s 1972 Playboy Magazine article in which Trillin declared Jess & Jim’s “the finest steakhouse in the world.”¹³ In 2001 the same publication named it one of the ten best steakhouses in the world. The menu runs from a 5-ounce filet to a 30-ounce bone-in behemoth; steak is the draw, and the kitchen keeps its focus there.³ The dining room retains the straightforward Midwestern steakhouse character that made the restaurant famous: no theatrical presentations, no rotating concepts — just aged beef, skilled preparation, and service staffed by people who know the menu.²

National recognition has come steadily over the decades: USA Today’s top-five steakhouses (1992), Playboy’s quintessential Midwestern steakhouse (2001), Esquire (2008), Travel + Leisure (2013), Daily Meal’s #9 steakhouse in America (2013), and multiple others through 2018.¹

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Ownership and history

Founding

Jess Kincaid and Jim Wright opened the restaurant in April 1938 as a small bar and grill at the corner of 135th Street and Holmes Road in Martin City.²¹ The two were close friends who built the business together from scratch. Kincaid eventually stepped away to focus on his family, leaving Wright as sole operator.

The 1957 tornado

On May 20, 1957, an F5 tornado — the Ruskin Heights Tornado — destroyed the original building (the restaurant was closed at the time). Jim Wright relocated to 517 E 135th Street, into a building already owned by his cousin R.C. Van Noy, which had previously housed a pharmacy and roller rink. That address has been home to Jess & Jim’s ever since.¹

The Van Noy era

Jim Wright hired his cousin R.C. Van Noy to host evenings and manage the dining room circa 1949, creating a complementary partnership — Wright in the kitchen, Van Noy greeting guests.² As Wright’s health declined, R.C. took over day-to-day operations fully. R.C. Van Noy passed away in October 2002.

Mike and David Van Noy, R.C.’s sons, assumed ownership in 1990 and ran the restaurant jointly until David’s retirement, at which point Mike Van Noy became sole owner.² The fourth generation of the family now works in the business and is positioned to carry it forward — an unbroken family stewardship spanning founder Jim Wright through three generations of Van Noys.²

National spotlight

In 1972, Calvin Trillin — then writing for Playboy Magazine — named Jess & Jim’s “the finest steakhouse in the world,” catapulting the regional institution into national food writing.¹³ The restaurant memorialized the moment by naming its signature cut the Playboy Strip. Trillin’s verdict has aged well: the restaurant continues to appear on national best-steakhouses lists nearly 55 years later.

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Links

• Official site: https://www.jessandjims.com/

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Sources

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Disputes

None active. The claim of being “the oldest continuously operating independent steakhouse in Kansas City” is supported by founding date (1938) and continuous family operation; the Golden Ox (founded 1949, closed 2014, revived 2018 under new ownership) does not contest this on comparable terms. Wikipedia notes Jess & Jim’s is one of “12 oldest steakhouses in the United States” — specific rank within that group is not verified.

Footnotes

1. Wikipedia — “Jess & Jim’s Steakhouse.” Asserts: founded April 15 1938; tornado relocation May 20 1957 (Ruskin Heights F5); current address 517 E 135th St KC MO 64145; Calvin Trillin “finest in the world” 1972 Playboy; Playboy Strip = 25 oz named for Trillin; national award list 1992–2018; one of 12 oldest US steakhouses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jess_%26_Jim%27s_Steakhouse ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. jessandjims.com/our-history — Jess & Jim’s official history page. Asserts: founded April 1938 by Jess Kincaid and Jim Wright; R.C. Van Noy joined as partner; Mike and David Van Noy owned since 1990; Mike now sole owner after David’s retirement; 4th generation in business. https://www.jessandjims.com/our-history/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

3. Tasting Table — “Jess & Jim’s: The 1938 Kansas City Steakhouse Still Known For Its Gigantic Steaks.” Asserts: black bull on building; Playboy Strip 25 oz named after Trillin; menu range 5–30 oz; Playboy 2001 “10 best steakhouses in the world.” https://www.tastingtable.com/2065136/jess-jims-steakhouse-kansas-city/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴