Arthur Bryant's is a restaurant located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is considered by some to be the most famous barbecue restaurant in the United States.

History

The restaurant's background was started by Henry Perry, the "father of Kansas City barbecue". In 1908, he had begun serving smoked meats from an alley stand to workers in the Garment District in

Downtown Kansas City Downtown Kansas City is the central business district (CBD) of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is between the Missouri River in the north, to 31st Street in the south; and from the Kansas–Missouri state line east ...

. Perry moved to the 18th Street and Vine neighborhood where he sold barbecue for 25 cents per slab from a trolley barn at 19th and Highland. Charlie Bryant was an employee there and was soon joined by his brother

Arthur Bryant Sir Arthur Wynne Morgan Bryant, (18 February 1899 – 22 January 1985) was an English historian, columnist for ''The Illustrated London News'' and man of affairs. His books included studies of Samuel Pepys, accounts of English eighteenth- and n ...

. In 1940 when Perry died, Charlie took over the restaurant. Arthur in turn took it over in 1946. The restaurant was located for many years at 18th and Euclid Streets in the

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

neighborhood of

18th and Vine 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

. Bryant moved the business to its present location, 1727 Brooklyn, in 1949. In the 1950s and through the early 1970s, it was visited by fans and players visiting Municipal Stadium, home to the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

(1955–1967),

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

(1963–1971) and Kansas City Royals (1969–1972). The stadium was located five blocks south of the restaurant until being razed in 1976. The decor has consistently been formica tables, fluorescent lighting, and jugs of sauce placed in the windows. Its specialty is

burnt ends Burnt ends are flavorful pieces of meat cut from the "point" half of a smoked brisket. When brisket muscles are separated, the lean "first cut" or "flat cut" is the deep pectoral, while the fattier "point", also known as the "second cut", "fat en ...

, the flavorful end pieces of smoked beef

brisket Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. The beef brisket is one of the nine beef primal cuts, though the definition of the cut differs internationally. The brisket muscles include the superficial and deep pectora ...

; burnt end sandwiches are served open-faced at the restaurant. Its sauce is characterized by vinegar and paprika rather than sweetness. The restaurant gained fame over the next several decades, and notable diners include President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

. In 1974, it became the subject of international attention when

Calvin Trillin Calvin Marshall Trillin (born 5 December 1935) is an American journalist, humorist, food writer, poet, memoirist and novelist. He is a winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor (2012) and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts ...

wrote in ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'' that it was "possibly the single best restaurant in the world". Since then, it has been frequented by famous visitors, including area resident Tom Watson, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford,

Bryant Gumbel Bryant Charles Gumbel (born September 29, 1948) is an American television journalist and sportscaster, best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's '' Today''. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel. Since 1995, he has hosted ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960) is an American actor. He has portrayed eccentric characters in films such as the drama ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (1989) for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, the action scie ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

, 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin, and barbecue aficionados. Arthur Bryant died in 1982, and the restaurant is now owned by Jerry Rauschelbach, who expanded the restaurant to the

Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...

and Ameristar Casino. The location at Ameristar Casino closed in January 2014, after failing to make a new lease with the casino. In 2022, the restaurant requested that customers refrain from ordering its popular

and

due to high beef prices.https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article259551149.html

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/
Kansas City barbecue restaurantsThe Kansas City Barbecue Society
Culture of Kansas City, Missouri Barbecue restaurants in the United States Restaurants in Kansas City, Missouri Companies based in Kansas City, Missouri Restaurants established in 1908 1908 establishments in Missouri

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links