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

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke ...

restaurant in the United States.

History

The restaurant's background was started by Henry Perry, the "father of

Kansas City barbecue Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

". 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 eas ...

. 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. 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 somet ...

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 Municipal Stadium may refer to: Europe and Asia *Beirut Municipal Stadium, Lebanon *Herzliya Municipal Stadium, Israel *Hiroshima Municipal Stadium (1957), Japan *Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala or Municipal Stadium, Pakistan *Kfarjoz 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 seas ...

(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 t ...

(1963–1971) and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

(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, 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 pector ...

; 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. 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 an ...

wrote in ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's 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 Hefner's mother. K ...

'' 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 Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spi ...

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...

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 hoste ...

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 19 ...

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,

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, 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 ...

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 (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

, 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain and running mate

Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, author, and reality television personality who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 ...

, and

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 2011 ...

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 burnt ends 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