Barbecues are undeniably a part of America’s cultural landscape, as just a mere mention of a barbecue evokes images of smoky grills in backyards, cookouts in parks, and lines around the block where hungry folks wait for hours to get a taste of meat from the most famous joints. Barbecue has a long tradition in Kansas City, even longer than other places with signature barbecue styles, like California’s Santa Maria Valley. Since its inception decades ago, the city’s more than 100 barbecue restaurants have become renowned for their smoky, mouth-watering cuts on offer. The Kansas City’s impeccable barbecue reputation has won the city’s pitmasters spots on TV shows like “Grill Masters”, inspired competitions and festivals, and earned recognition around the globe.
Jones Bar-B-Q, a family-owned restaurant serving all the platters, plates, and slabs you can imagine, holds a well-earned spot in the Kansas City barbecuing field. Aside from its excellent beef, ham, turkey, and pork combos, the restaurant also serves iconic sides like potato salad and rib tips. After an appearance on Netflix’s hit reality series “Queer Eye,” the Jones sisters sold 11,000 bottles of their homemade barbecue sauce, averaging 1.7 bottles a minute over a single weekend, but the cleverest addition to their business model is a 24/7 barbecue vending machine outside the establishment.
The Jones sisters added the machine as a way for customers to indulge in the restaurant’s best bites on demand any time of the day or night, and the neatly packaged sandwiches have been flying off the shelves ever since. A choice of potato salad, baked beans, or coleslaw comes tucked in with the sandwiches. Bottles of their special sauce are also available on the bottom shelf.
Eat at the Jones Bar-B-Q or try a sandwich from the vending machine
The Jones sisters won’t divulge what the secret ingredient in their sauce is, but when sharing their story are proud to say that the one thing they always put into their food is hard work. That hard work pays off as the barbecue haven often sees lines around the block for their daily-made creations. The restaurant is open from 10:45 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. But these hours come with a caveat — the restaurant only stays open until 3 p.m. provided they haven’t sold out. When the food is gone, the restaurant closes for the day.
The ribs, homemade sausages, and baked beans are some of the dishes that people rave about most, and one barbecue enthusiast on Google even described the burnt ends at the restaurant as “life-changing.” Prices here are also quite reasonable and the restaurant is set up with a few picnic tables outside so you can enjoy your meal right away. Freight trains occasionally roar past, drowning out order requests, but that’s a good clue that you’re about to have an authentic dining experience (for more ways to know if a restaurant is authentic while traveling, here are some clues from Rick Steves).
For those who can’t make it to the serving window before Jones Bar-B-Q closes, there’s no need to fret, as the vending machine keeps the party going with its delicious sandwich options. While full-on meals in vending machines are common in places like Japan, vending machine meat sandwiches sound like a project that could go wrong if executed improperly. Luckily, Jones Bar-B-Q’s vending machine is temperature controlled, and its sandwiches are tightly sealed in clamshell boxes, ensuring that your beef, ham, and turkey selections stay fresh.
Things to know before you go to Jones Bar-B-Q
