A beloved Kansas City barbecue is set to debut a new neighborhood restaurant concept — its first new location in nearly a decade — open every day of the week.
The owners of Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que plan to launch Joe’s Next Door in May, in the former Taco Republic complex — just across Mission Road from its original gas station restaurant. (The signature hometown BBQ spot is expected to remain open, having gained a name for itself among hungry local fans, celebrity visitors, and tourists.)
Jeff and Joy Stehney, founders of Joe’s, will partner with the barbecue’s vice president, Ryan Barrows, in the new restaurant.
They are still working on the menu, but such staples as their seasoned french fries and Z-man sandwiches (slow-smoked beef brisket, portobello mushroom, pulled chicken or pulled pork, with provolone cheese, topped with two crispy onion rings, on a toasted Kaiser roll) will be offered, as well as a new fried chicken Z-man.
Other new items will include loaded french fries, smoked salmon — in a variety of dishes from dips to salad to club sandwiches — its housemade ice cream in shakes and boozy shakes; along with frozen cocktails and espresso martinis. Barrows, who had worked at Houston’s and Fairway Grill, wants a choice of entree salads. It also will have weekly specials.
The Z-man sandwich (slow-smoked beef brisket, portobello mushroom, pulled chicken or pulled pork, with provolone cheese, topped with two crispy onion rings, on a toasted Kaiser roll) from Joe’s Kansas City; courtesy photo
Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que also has restaurants in Leawood and Olathe, as well as outposts in Kauffman Stadium and CPKC Stadium.
While the restaurants are famously known for being closed on Sundays, Joe’s Next Door is scheduled to be open for lunch and dinner daily.
Three decades ago, the Stehneys turned their weekend competition barbeque hobby into a brick-and-mortar restaurant, opening in a gas station at 3002 W. 47th Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas.
“Joy and I lived just around the corner from 47th & Mission before we opened the gas station, it was one of our first homes and the beginning of our lives here in K.C.,” Jeff said in a statement. “This area means so much to us and we want to add another great restaurant that the local community can enjoy.”
Joe’s Kansas City, right, sits just east of what will be Joe’s Next Door, in the former Taco Republic at 500 County Line Road; photo by Joyce Smith
The Stehneys purchased the former Taco Republic site in 2015. Taco Republic opened in the former gas station in 2013. It later had a new owner who decided not to renew the lease a decade later.
Since then, Barrows said the Stehneys considered leasing, as well as selling it. But its proximity to the interstate, and to Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que across the street make it an attractive option for their expansion.
Construction and remodeling have already started — creating a buzz in the neighborhood.
The owners are enclosing part of the patio area by adding new garage doors that can open during nicer weather. Combined with the dining room, Joe’s Next Door should seat about 80 to 90 people. It will have fire pits, picnic tables, TVs and music. They also hope to add a pergola to offer more shelter outside.
The partners plan to start hiring workers in April — 30 to 40 people — and hope to open the restaurant in May “with plenty of time to spare before soccer fans travel into town.”
“But our tagline for Joe’s Next Door is ‘a neighborhood hangout,’” Barrows added. “We are designing it to give back to the neighborhood. It has gotten so hard for people to patronize us as a neighborhood joint. We’re taking what was there and elevating it a little bit.”
Startland News contributor Joyce Smith covered local restaurants and retail for nearly 40 years with The Kansas City Star. Click here to follow her on Bluesky, here for X (formerly Twitter), here for Facebook, here for Instagram, and by following #joyceinkc on Threads.
