When barbecue ribs are prepared well, they’re tender, juicy, and bursting with flavor that’s both sweet and savory. You can get a rack of ribs at restaurants all over the country, from Texas and North Carolina to the nation’s capital (the top barbecue spot in the United States? In Arkansas, according to Yelp). A restaurant in Kansas that has received a lot of recognition over the years is Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que.
Remember when chef Andrew Zimmern said your next great meal might be at a gas station? The popular joint renowned for its slow-smoked ribs coated in a tomato-and-molasses-based sauce famously doubles as a gas station. Since opening its doors in the mid ’90s, Joe’s (originally Oklahoma Joe’s) has landed on more than a few “best barbecue” lists, including topping Time Out’s list in 2024. Other noteworthy fans of Joe’s food include former president Barack Obama (who ordered 30 slabs of ribs when was in town in 2014), and late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.
How Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que got its start
Jeff and Joy Stehney, the owners of Joe’s, realized they had a passion for barbecue after they were invited to a barbecue competition in 1990. This led them to getting their own top wood smoker and entering competitions themselves (along with a few friends). The team, dubbed Slaughterhouse Five, ended up being wildly successful and won a lot of contests. Eventually, people started telling the Stehneys they should start their own restaurant. The couple didn’t really consider it until they had the opportunity to go into business with a friend, Joe Don Davidson, the founder and owner of Oklahoma Joe’s Smoker Company, in 1995.
They opened Oklahoma Joe’s in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 1996. Not long after, the Stehneys found the perfect location to start their own place closer to home: A gas station with an attached convenience store and liquor store inside, plus a fried chicken counter the owner had just closed. Feeling it was the perfect fit for them, they acquired the unassuming restaurant and the original Oklahoma Joe’s was shuttered. Davidson sold his business and the Stehneys bought him out of the Kansas City joint, ready to run things on their own. People came out as the duo had earned a reputation for their incredible barbecue. Currently, despite it being a relatively small place, they serve approximately 1,000 customers per day. They also have two other locations in Kansas.
