L.C. Richardson

L.C. Richardson (c. 1934 – 2021) was the founder and pitmaster of LC’s Bar-B-Q, a no-frills Blue Parkway smokehouse that became one of Kansas City’s most beloved and nationally cited barbecue institutions, famous for its heavily smoked burnt ends.

Biography

Born in Mississippi around 1934, Richardson moved to Kansas City in 1953.¹ He spent years in the restaurant trade, including as an executive chef for Farmland Industries (1973–1986), before opening LC’s Bar-B-Q in 1986 at 5800 Blue Parkway.¹ Working the pit himself, he built LC’s into a destination known for generous portions, a smoke-saturated dining room, and burnt ends regularly ranked among the city’s best — a fixture of Chiefs gamedays and national barbecue road trips.²

Richardson died on February 17, 2021, at age 86; the restaurant has continued under his family.¹

Legacy

L.C. Richardson belongs to the generation of Black Kansas City pitmasters who carried the city’s barbecue tradition forward into the modern era. LC’s remains a touchstone of unpretentious, smoke-forward Kansas City barbecue.

See also

• lcs-bar-b-q
• henry-perry

Sources

Footnotes

1. “L.C. Richardson, owner of LC’s Bar-B-Q, dies,” KSHB 41 (2021) — moved to KC 1953; Farmland Industries executive chef 1973–86; opened LC’s 1986 at 5800 Blue Parkway; died February 17, 2021, age 86. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. “L.C. Richardson of iconic restaurant LC’s BBQ in Kansas City passes away at 86,” FOX4 KC (2021) — LC’s as a nationally cited burnt-ends institution. ↩