This article is under verification. Some claims may be incomplete or awaiting a cited source. KS.City is a civic encyclopedia in active compilation.
Jeff and Joy Stehney are the husband-and-wife founders of Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que — the celebrated barbecue restaurant, born inside a Kansas City, Kansas gas station, that grew from a competition-circuit hobby into one of the most acclaimed barbecue joints in America.
Biography
In 1990, Jeff and Joy Stehney attended their first barbecue contest at a friend’s invitation; they bought a smoker in 1991 and formed the competition team Slaughterhouse Five, soon winning major events including the American Royal Open (Grand Champion, 1993).12
On the competition circuit they befriended Joe Davidson of Oklahoma Joe’s Smoker Company, and together opened Oklahoma Joe’s — including a Kansas City, Kansas location in August 1996, famously set inside a former gas station at 47th & Mission Road.2 After Davidson sold his smoker company and left in 1997, the Stehneys bought out his stake and took full control of the Kansas operation.2
In 2014 they rebranded the restaurant Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que.2 Its Z-Man sandwich (named in 1997 for radio host Mike Zarrick) and its burnt ends earned national fame, and the gas-station original became a pilgrimage site for barbecue lovers worldwide.1
Legacy
The Stehneys helped define modern Kansas City barbecue, proving that competition-honed craft could power a beloved, nationally ranked restaurant — all from one of the most unlikely addresses in American dining.
See also
Sources
Footnotes
-
“Our Story” and “The Legend of the Z-Man,” Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que (joeskc.com) — 1990 first contest; first smoker 1991; Slaughterhouse Five; Z-Man named (1997) for Mike Zarrick. ↩ ↩2
-
“Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que,” Wikipedia — KCK gas-station location (August 1996, 47th & Mission); buyout of Davidson (1997); rebrand to Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que (official November 17, 2014). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4