Arthur Bryant's

The restaurant can trace its descent from Henry Perry, the "father of Kansas City barbecue", who in 1908 began serving smoked meats to workers in the Garment District in Downtown Kansas City from an alley stand. Perry moved to the 18th Street and Vine neighborhood where he sold barbecue for 25 cents a slab from a trolley barn at 19th and Highland. Henry Perry being of being no relation to the Bryant family decided to give some cooking lessons to The Bryant’s. The Bryant’s then decided to use what they learned to create their own business.

Charlie Bryant worked within the restaurant and was soon joined by his brother Arthur Bryant. In 1940 when Perry died, Charlie took over the restaurant. Arthur in turn was to take it over in 1946.[2]

Interior of the location at 18th and Brooklyn

The second 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.[3] 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 before being razed in 1976.

The restaurant has never strayed far from its unpretentious decor with formica tables, fluorescent lighting, and jugs of sauce placed in the windows. While Arthur Bryant's is known for the full range of barbecue dishes, its acknowledged specialty is burnt ends, the flavorful end pieces of smoked beef brisket; burnt end sandwiches are served open-faced at the restaurant. Its sauce (which is characterized by tastes of vinegar and paprika rather than sweetness) is sold on the Internet and by mail, and at various locations including Kansas City International Airport.

The restaurant gained fame over the next several decades, and notable diners included President Harry S. Truman.[4] However, it became the subject of international attention when, in 1974, writer Calvin Trillin wrote in Playboy that Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City was "...possibly the single best restaurant in the world." Since then, it has been frequented by a number of famous visitors, including Tom Watson (the 8 time major golf champion is a native of Kansas City and currently lives in Stilwell, Kansas), Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Bryant Gumbel, Jimmy Carter, Jack Nicholson,[4] James Spader, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and in 2008 by Republican presidential nominee John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin, as well as barbecue aficionados.

Arthur Bryant died in 1982,[2] and the restaurant is now owned by Katherine Bryant, Samuel Bryant, etc who expanded the restaurant to the Kansas Speedway and Ameristar Casino. Samuel Bryant has since sold the family business to a non related family of Italian American descent. Ending its tenure as a Black owned business in 2012. The location at Ameristar Casino closed in January 2014, after the restaurant was unable to work out a new lease deal with the casino.[5]

Arthur Bryant’s restaurant has a long history of working within Black neighborhoods in Kansas City, even though many Black citizens within the Kansas City community have noted Charlie and Arther Bryant did not always welcome them into restaurant locations. They instead were asked to sit outside to not bother frequent white patrons.

When The Bryant Family sold all their interest in the restaurant in 1992 they ceased to be a Black or family owned business.

• List of barbecue restaurants

• Official website
• Frommer's guidebook review
• Kansas City barbecue restaurants
• The Kansas City Barbecue Society