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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Arthur Bryant's
Arthur Bryant's is a restaurant located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is sometimes called the most famous barbecue restaurant in the United States.

History

Interior of the location at 18th and Brooklyn
President Obama visited in 2014.

In 1908, Henry Perry, the "father of Kansas City barbecue", began serving smoked meats from an alley stand to workers in the Garment District in Downtown Kansas City. 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. When Perry died in 1940, Charlie took over the restaurant and Arthur in turn took it over in 1946.

The restaurant was located for many years at 18th and Euclid Streets in the inner city neighborhood of 18th and Vine. 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 (1955–1967), Kansas City Chiefs (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, the flavorful end pieces of smoked beef brisket; 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 the humorist Calvin Trillin, a native of Kansas City, "playfully extolled" it, saying "it has long been acknowledged that the single best restaurant in the world is Arthur Bryant's..." in a piece in Playboy which starts "The best restaurants in the world are, of course, in Kansas City. Not all of them; only the top four or five" and later makes fun of "Hometown Food Nostalgia". Since then, it has been frequented by famous visitors, including area resident Tom Watson, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Bryant Gumbel, Jimmy Carter, Jack Nicholson, James Spader, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin, and barbecue aficionados.

Arthur Bryant died in 1982, and the restaurant was bought by Jerry Rauschelbach, who expanded the restaurant to the Kansas Speedway and Ameristar Casino. The location at Ameristar Casino closed in January 2014, after failing to sign a new lease with the casino.

In 2022, the restaurant requested that customers refrain from ordering its popular brisket and burnt ends due to high beef prices.

In December 2022 it was announced that both the restaurant building & business had been sold to MMD Acquisitions LLC for an undisclosed amount.

The two principal partners in the new owning company are local food industry professionals, Chris Stuewe and Andrew Miller.

See also