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

Roscoe’s Barbeque is a small, lunch-only, family-run barbecue counter in a sheet-metal building beside a gas station on Kaw Drive in Edwardsville, in western Wyandotte County. Roscoe and Mariann Davis opened it in 2009 and closed it to retire at the end of 2022; their sons Roscoe Davis III and Nick Davis reopened it in the same building in January 2024 with counter service and “mostly the same menu.” The draw is the burnt ends — the menu spells them “burntends” — plus dry-rub ribs, smoked sausage, and sides made fresh each day, notably cheesy corn and a corn-flake-topped potato casserole called Frankie’s Taters. Open Monday through Friday for lunch only; closed weekends.

Description

Roscoe’s sits in “a small restaurant in a sheet metal building sharing a parking lot and sign with a gas station” on Kaw Drive (K-32) at the edge of Edwardsville, a few minutes from the Bonner Springs line.1 The dining room is plain and bright; orders are taken at the counter, and reviewers regularly mention staff coming out to the tables afterward to ask how the meal was.12

The menu is shorter than most KC barbecue houses. As photographed in October 2024 it listed pork ribs, “burntends,” four smoked meats (turkey, pulled pork, jalapeño sausage, ham), a pork tenderloin sandwich, a pork pie, and six sides.1 The sons told The Star before reopening that burnt ends would remain the big draw, with ribs done “dry rub, falling-off-the-bone style” and sausage, all smoked on site; sides are made fresh daily and include cheesy corn, Frankie’s Taters (a potato-based casserole), coleslaw and beans.3 Keith Stokes of KansasTravel.org, who has reviewed the metro’s barbecue for years, called the burnt ends “just what I like — tender, with a lot of flavor from the rub and with a nice level of fat marbling. Order them without sauce as there is no reason for it,” rated the cheesy corn “some of the best I have ever had,” and described Frankie’s Taters as scalloped potatoes under a layer of corn flakes. Two thick, sweet sauces, regular and spicy, sit on the tables.1 Visit KCK’s summary: “fall-off-the-bone ribs, fresh sides and burnt ends known to melt in your mouth.”4

Ownership and history

Roscoe and Mariann Davis opened Roscoe’s Barbeque at 9711 Kaw Drive in late 2009.31 It ran on limited, weekday lunch hours from the start — Stokes notes it “has always been open limited hours” — and built a following in Edwardsville, Bonner Springs and the western county.1 In January 2023 the couple announced on Facebook that they had chosen to retire and close after 13 years; The Star dates the closure to late 2022.53

Their two sons, Roscoe Davis III and Nick Davis, had both worked in the restaurant for several years.3 On December 4, 2023 the family announced the sons would bring it back — “Same great food, same great location, and same great family environment!” — with a January 2024 target.65 “It closed because they wanted to retire, but over the last year we’ve seen that there’s a need for it in the community,” the younger Roscoe told The Star. The plan: the same building, counter service, most of the old menu plus new lunch items in the $10–20 range aimed at workers on a break — “You get your sandwich and get back to work” — and hours of Monday 11–4 and Tuesday–Friday 11–6, closed weekends. “We’re just trying to build a staple for the community. A nice, warm, welcoming place for Edwardsville and the surrounding areas.”3 The restaurant reopened in 2024 (Stokes ate there in October 2024) on exactly those hours, which it still keeps.17

The Davises’ residency is not stated in any source, but both generations have run the restaurant in person in Edwardsville for 16 of the last 17 years.

The space

A metal building at 9711 Kaw Drive that shares its lot and roadside sign with a gas station.1

Last verified: — · Source: none first-party · Confidence: —. Roscoe’s has no website or first-party ordering page; the only menu image online is a third-party photograph (KansasTravel.org, October 2024), so prices are not recorded here. Menu status: unverified. Documented items (no prices): pork ribs (slab and by the piece), burnt ends (plate, sandwich, with fries), pulled pork, brisket, smoked turkey, jalapeño sausage, ham, pork tenderloin sandwich, pork pie; sides — cheesy corn, Frankie’s Taters, BBQ beans, coleslaw, crinkle-cut fries; regular and spicy sauces.132

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Keith Stokes, “Roscoe’s BBQ — Edwardsville, Kansas,” KansasTravel.org (Kansas City BBQ series), updated 2024 with an October 2024 visit and menu photo — Confirms: sheet-metal building sharing lot and sign with a gas station; opened late 2009, closed 2022 on retirement, sons reopened 2024; hours Mon 11–4, Tue–Fri 11–6; menu composition (ribs, “burntends,” turkey, pulled pork, jalapeño sausage, ham, tenderloin, pork pie, six sides); tasting notes on ribs, burnt ends, cheesy corn, Frankie’s Taters, fries and sauces; staff checking on tables. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  2. Restaurantji — “Roscoe’s BBQ, Edwardsville” (Google-sourced reviews and hours). Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: 4.8 rating (262); hours 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; reviews dated February, July and August 2025; page “Updated on: Aug 16, 2026”; customer-favorite items (brisket sandwich, slab, pulled pork, cheesy corn, beans). Third-party; provisional. ↩ ↩2

  3. Joyce Smith, “Kansas City area BBQ joint closed when owners retired. Their sons will soon reopen it,” The Kansas City Star, December 2023 (syndicated via Yahoo News) (original: kansascity.com) — Confirms: closed late 2022; Roscoe and Nick Davis reviving the business started in 2009 by parents Roscoe and Mariann; both sons worked there for several years; same location; counter service; mostly the same menu plus $10–20 lunch items; burnt ends, dry-rub ribs, sausage smoked on site; sides (cheesy corn, Frankie’s Taters, coleslaw, beans); January target; planned hours; quotes. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  4. Visit Kansas City, Kansas — listing “Roscoe’s Barbeque.” Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: name; address 9711 Kaw Drive, Edwardsville, KS 66111; phone (913) 422-4600; email roscoebbqkc@gmail.com; “Family run barbecue business serving up fall-off-the-bone ribs, fresh sides and burnt ends known to melt in your mouth”; website link resolves to the Facebook page. ↩

  5. Brian Dulle, “Kansas City area’s Roscoe’s BBQ set to reopen in 2024,” FOX4 KC, 2023-12-05 — Confirms: Roscoe and Mariann Davis announced retirement and closure in January 2023 after 13 years; sons Roscoe III and Nick reopening; “true hidden gem” known for ribs and burnt ends; “Same great food, same great location and same great family environment! … We look forward to serving you January 2024!” ↩ ↩2

  6. “Popular KC BBQ joint to re-open in 2024,” KCTV5, 2023-12-06 — Confirms: announcement made Monday (2023-12-04) on the restaurant’s Facebook page; January 2024 reopening at 9711 Kaw Drive; sons named. ↩

  7. Roscoe’s BBQ — Facebook page, as indexed in search results (page itself not machine-readable). Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: “Monday 11-4 ** Tuesday-Friday 11-6 ** Closed Saturday and Sunday. (913) 422-4600 … be open Friday July 3. 9711 Kaw Dr, Edwardsville KS 66111” (July 3 falls on a Friday in 2026). ↩

See also

Categories

On the record — ks.city/registry/roscoes-barbeque · record updated 2026-08-28