Oklahoma Joe's is a

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

restaurant owned and operated by Joe Davidson, with all locations in and around

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, and

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

History

Oklahoma Joe's was originally started by Davidson as a smoker manufacturer, then a decade later launched its

restaurant. The first Oklahoma Joe's opened in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in January 1996. A Kansas City location followed later that year, located inside a gas station at the corner of W 47th St and Mission Rd in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

. During the 1990s, Davidson met Jeff and Joy Stehney while they were on the competition barbecue circuit with their team Slaughterhouse Five. Davidson and the Stehneys decided to go into the restaurant business together, and they opened Oklahoma Joe's in

Stillwater, Oklahoma Stillwater is the tenth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, Payne County. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177#Oklahoma, U.S. Route 177 and Oklahoma S ...

, and in

, in 1996. Davidson sold Oklahoma Joe's Smokers in 1997 and moved to Texas. With Davidson out of Oklahoma, the partners decided to close the Stillwater location, and the Stehneys bought out Davidson's ownership and assumed full control of the Kansas location.Great American Bites: Award-winning Kansas City BBQ at Oklahoma Joe's - USATODAY.com
/ref> When Davidson returned to Oklahoma and opened his own version of a new Oklahoma Joe's in 2011, he made an agreement with the Stehneys to change the name of their Kansas City area restaurants. In August 2014, the Stehneys announced that the name of their three Kansas City area restaurants would be changed to

Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que, formerly known as Oklahoma Joe's, is a barbecue restaurant, with locations in the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is owned and operated by Jeff and Joy Stehney. History Oklahoma Joe began in competition barbecue a ...

. Davidson opened his first of the current Oklahoma Joe's restaurants in

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Broken Arrow is a city in Tulsa and Wagoner counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. According to the 2020 census, Broken Arrow has a population of 113,540 residents and is the 4th most populous city in the s ...

, in 2011. He opened his second location in 2012 inside

Cain's Ballroom Cain's Ballroom is a historic music venue in Tulsa, Oklahoma that was built in 1924 as a garage for W. Tate Brady's automobiles. Madison W. "Daddy" Cain purchased the building in 1930 and named it Cain's Dance Academy. In 2021, Pollstar ranked ...

. In 2014, Davidson announced that he was planning new locations in South Tulsa and in the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, area. The location in South Tulsa opened in May 2016. He also announced plans for a one-of-a kind Barbecue Factory in Oklahoma. A location in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

's Haymarket District opened on July 25, 2017.

Locations

Current Locations

- opened in 2011 at 333 W Albany *

- opened 2012 inside

at 423 N Main St *

- opened May 27, 2016, at 6175 E 61st St *

Catoosa, Oklahoma Catoosa is a city in Rogers County, Oklahoma, Rogers and Wagoner County, Oklahoma, Wagoner counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 7,440 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census compared to 7,159 at the 2010 United States c ...

- opened in July 2017 at 19361 NE Robson Rd. The fourth Tulsa-area location, the restaurant is located inside the Pythian Building in space that formerly housed a Dickey's Barbecue Pit *

- opened in November 2018 at 1912 S 67th St in the Aksarben neighborhood of Omaha.

Former Locations

- opened in 1996 inside a gas station at the corner of W 47th St and Mission Rd. Joe Davidson sold his interest in the Kansas City location in 1997; however, it retained the Oklahoma Joe's name until 2014 when it was re-branded as

to avoid confusion with the restaurants operated by Joe Davidson. The Kansas City locations, owned and operated by Jeff and Joy Stehney, have been named by numerous publications as being among the top barbecue restaurants in the United States. The Stehneys have expanded their operation by opening additional restaurants in

Olathe, Kansas Olathe ( ) is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, fourth-most populous city in both the Kansas City metropolitan area and the state of Kansas, with a 2020 Uni ...

, and

Leawood, Kansas Leawood () is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 33,902. History 19th century After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the are ...

. *

- A franchised location opened July 25, 2017, at 800 Q St. The location was only open for 6 months. The franchisee was involved in a legal dispute over failure to pay past rent and using funds to subsidize a previously failed restaurant. * Merrifield, Virginia - opened May 30, 2016, near Dunn Loring station One year after opening, in June 2017, the investing partners cut ties with Oklahoma Joe's and re-branded the restaurant as District BBQ. The partners, Kansas City-natives Ahmad and Aladdin Ashkar, indicated a desire to do things the Kansas City way and had differences of opinion with franchise owner Joe Davidson. Since severing ties with Oklahoma Joe's, District BBQ has been named by the Washington Post as one of the best barbecue restaurants in the Washington, D.C., area.

References

{{coord, 36.07331, -95.79457, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-OK, display=title Barbecue restaurants in the United States Restaurants in Oklahoma

History

Locations

Current Locations

Former Locations

See also

References