KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There are few things that will stir a more spirited conversation in Kansas City than discussing your favorite barbecue joint — and now there’s a museum dedicated to barbecue.
The Museum of BBQ will celebrate its grand opening Saturday, April 12, on the second floor inside Crown Center.
“There isn’t a museum of barbecue in the entire world and, to me, there was no better place to put it than Kansas City, which has such a rich, deep history of barbecue,” Museum of BBQ Founder Jonathan Bender said.
Of course, Kansas City isn’t the country’s only barbecue mecca — just the best, right?
“One of the things I love about barbecue is that you’re going to tell me your favorite place and I’m going to tell you my favorite place,” Bender said. “We can argue or banter back and forth, but we’ll still sit down and have the meal together afterwards, which feels great.”
RELATED | 2023 Kansas City BBQ Draft: Breaking down best from Barbecue Capital of America
The museum’s entry point is a retail store for sauces, rubs, charcoal and grilling tools with an oversized “smoker door” that opens into nearly 4,000 square feet of exhibit space.
It’s part educational — with information on cuts of meat, spices and rubs, the evolution of selling smoked meat, the variety of sauce styles, and regions of the country that claim to smoke the competition when it comes to BBQ — and part whimsy.
There’s a “smoke ring” toss, barbecue-related dad jokes and a “bean” ball pit, but it also introduces the four major U.S. regions known for their barbecue — Kansas City, Memphis, Texas and the Carolinas — and explains what makes each unique.
“We’re a gateway — not only to Kansas City barbecue, but all of American barbecue,” Bender said. “Within this space — it’s about 4,000 square feet — I think we’re kind of starting your journey. We don’t have the opportunity to tell every story, but we want to get you interested and curious, whether that’s cooking or eating, and then send you on your way out to go try some great Kansas City barbecue.”
Bender hopes out-of-town guests eager to sample Kansas City’s famous barbecue and residents alike can enjoy a low-and-slow journey through the Museum of BBQ, which features murals by Kansas City’s own Sike Style and Memphis-based Birdcap.
“Most folks may have some sense of the history or culture of Kansas City barbecue, but they may not know about the different elements — what it takes from a smoke or rub or wood perspective to truly create flavor,” Bender said.
Ron and Patty Hochheimer moved to Kansas City from Chicago last fall and have enjoyed making the rounds in their new home’s renowned barbecue joints.
“We went to Arthur Bryant's and thought it was kind of cool, kind of different,” Patty said.
“We've tried a bunch of them,” Ron chimed in.
“Q39 is good,” Patty offered.
“And we went out to Gates,” Ron said.
The couple’s sons are avid barbecuers, so they stopped by the Museum of BBQ for a sneak peek at the store — which sells sauces and rubs from across Kansas City as well as the Carolinas, Memphis and Texas alongside tools, charcoal and other grilling essentials.
“The retail store has sauces and rubs and things that most folks will have never tried if they haven’t traveled to eat barbecue,” Bender said. “I think there’s a lot of different flavor profiles, and folks who like to cook or even just eat can really experience some different things. That’s where we have deep knowledge, so the ability to share that with folks in Kansas City is exciting for us.”
That alone is a draw for the Hochheimers.
“All the barbecues on the shelves, that was interesting seeing all the different kinds of different flavors,” Patty said. “The really hot ones and the mild ones and the sweet ones. ... For the kids, I usually stick something, like some kind of rub or barbecue sauce, in their stockings or even Easter baskets.”
Ron added, “To see all that stuff in one place was kind of cool.”
They plan to visit the museum for a proper tour after it opens. Tickets will cost $10.
In the museum’s penultimate room, there is a spot to leave barbecue recommendations for other museum-goers.
“We wanted to start conversations with people.” Bender said. “Hopefully, folks will leave their favorite place and take recommendations from others and go out and try something that they haven’t had before. ... That’s the thing that is so really experiential about barbecue. As much as the food, it is about that moment in time — where you are, who you’re with, right? It becomes an experience as much as about what you’re eating.”
KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
—
