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Ollie Walter Gates Sr. (born July 3, 1931) is the Kansas City businessman and civic leader who built Gates Bar-B-Q from a single family restaurant into one of the most recognized barbecue brands in America — and, through OG Investment, a force in the development of Kansas City’s Black community. A barbecue figure of the Henry Perry lineage, he was inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame in 2021.

Biography

Early life and the family business

Ollie Gates was born in Kansas City, Missouri on July 3, 1931, and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1949.12 He attended Maryland State College on a football scholarship before transferring to Lincoln University in Jefferson City, where he joined ROTC and graduated in 1954.1 Commissioned as an Army officer, he completed the U.S. Army School of Engineering at Fort Belvoir, Virginia in 1955 and served two years in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.1

His parents, George and Arzelia Gates, had founded the family barbecue business in 1946 when they purchased the Ol’ Kentuck Bar-B-Q (at 19th and Vine), staffed in its early years by pitmaster Arthur Pinkard, who had trained under Kansas City barbecue pioneer Henry Perry.3 In 1956, Ollie — the trained engineer — built the first “ground-up” Gates restaurant, Gates & Son’s Bar-B-Q.1 After his father George died in 1960 (his mother Arzelia in 2005), Ollie took over the company, bringing new ideas to customer service and to the design of the barbecue pit.1

Building an institution

Under Ollie Gates’s leadership, Gates Bar-B-Q grew into a multi-location Kansas City institution famous for its tangy sauce and its boisterous “Hi, may I help you?” counter greeting.1 Gates sauce reached local grocery shelves in 1975 and national distribution by 1983, and the company runs an in-house employee training program known as “Rib Tech.”1 In 1970 Gates launched OG Investment, expanding into commercial and residential real estate east of Troost — transforming the 12th and Brooklyn corridor and other Black neighborhoods — work widely credited with strengthening the city’s Black community; he also co-founded the Twelfth Street Heritage Development Corporation in 1984.4

Recognition and civic role

In 2021, Ollie Gates was inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame at the American Royal, in the same class as Arthur Bryant.5 His civic résumé is extensive: former president of the Kansas City Board of Parks and Recreation, board chairman of the Bruce R. Watkins Foundation, a former Nelson-Atkins trustee, and an inductee of the UMKC Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame.14 In November 2025, at age 94, he received the Jim White Community Development Legacy Award.6 He has spoken often about the intertwined histories of Kansas City barbecue and the Negro Leagues communities of the 18th and Vine district.

Legacy

Ollie Gates is one of the defining figures of modern Kansas City — a barbecue legend, a builder of businesses and neighborhoods, and a keeper of a culinary lineage that reaches back to Henry Perry’s pit. Gates Bar-B-Q remains family-owned, with granddaughter Bianca Gates now managing OG Investment properties.4

See also

Sources

Footnotes

  1. “Ollie Gates,” Barbecue Hall of Fame bio, American Royal — Lincoln High 1949; Lincoln University 1954 + ROTC; Army Corps of Engineers (Fort Belvoir 1955, two years); 1956 first ground-up Gates & Son’s restaurant; George died 1960, Arzelia 2005; “Hi, may I help you?”; sauce distribution (local 1975, national 1983); Rib Tech; civic boards. https://americanroyal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Ollie-Gates-Bio.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  2. UMKC Libraries Finding Aids authority record — “Gates, Ollie, Sr. (Ollie Walter Gates, Sr.) (July 3, 1931–).” https://finding-aids.library.umkc.edu/agents/people/663 ↩

  3. “KC Black History: Who Were the Pioneers Who Made Here the ‘BBQ Capital of the World’?” Kansas City Public Library (Feb 2022) — Gates 1946 purchase; Arthur Pinkard / Henry Perry lineage; Pinkard died St. Louis 1963. ↩

  4. “Building Kansas City: The Gates Family and OG Investment,” LISC Kansas City — OG Investment founded 1970; real-estate development east of Troost; Twelfth Street Heritage Development Corp (1984); granddaughter Bianca Gates. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. “Kansas City Barbecue Legends Ollie Gates and Arthur Bryant Inducted Into Hall of Fame,” KCUR (2021-09-18). ↩

  6. “Ollie Gates honored at Thrive Awards 2025,” The Community Voice (2025-11-17) — Jim White Community Development Legacy Award; age 94, living as of November 2025. ↩

See also

Categories
  • Concept
  • Person
  • Modern
  • Bbq
  • Perry Lineage