Deborah Jones
“The James Beard people came out here and ate our food and said it was special. We already knew that. Our customers already knew that.”
Deborah Jones and her sister Mary have been running Jones Bar-B-Q in Kansas City, KS since 1986, carrying forward a family tradition of BBQ that predates their restaurant by generations. In 2018, the James Beard Foundation recognized Jones Bar-B-Q with an America's Classics award — one of the most prestigious honors in American food — validating what KCK locals had known for decades. The Jones sisters operate a small, no-frills building with limited hours, cooking over an open pit with hickory wood. The ribs are the signature: deeply smoky, tender, and sauced with a recipe that has been in the family for generations. The recognition has brought national attention, but the operation remains unchanged — small, personal, and rooted in community.
Philosophy
We cook the way our family has always cooked. We don't try to be fancy. We just try to be good every single day.
Technique
Open-pit cooking over hickory wood. Ribs are slow-smoked and finished with a family sauce recipe. The technique is traditional and unchanged — consistency comes from decades of repetition.
Recognition
- James Beard America's Classics Award (2018)
- Featured in national food media