Another local BBQ joint closes because of COVID impacts
By Greg Payne
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JOHNSON COUNTY, Kansas (KCTV) — Kansas City is known for its barbecue and the competition to be a top restaurant in this town is fierce.
Sadly, this weekend we will lose another good one, as Smokey’s on the Boulevard will close its doors after nine years in business.
They say when the initial COVID mandate came out eliminating dine in, they flourished because of their drive thru, but now things have taken a turn.
For nearly two and a half years, John Sexton has been manning the meat at Smokey’s BBQ in Overland Park.
They’ve got it all, from ribs and brisket, to their specialty burnt ends.
“There may not be anywhere else in town that do burnt end quite like we did,” says Sexton the restaurant general manager.
The reason he’s speaking in past tense, is because on Sunday Smokey’s will be closing, for good.
“This pandemic really has made everything just so unpredictable and that’s really one of the big reasons,” says Sexton.
Sexton says an example of that was both Chiefs playoff runs.
“Given that we went through the same championship game, Super Bowl last year, I was kind of expecting that we would see the same sorts of numbers,” says Sexton.
Instead, they saw pretty much the exact opposite.
“We did half as much business for the Super Bowl as we did for the AFC Championship Game, which was very surprising. I don’t know what the heck happened,” says Sexton.
The inconsistent business forced them to keep going back and forth between hiring and laying off.
Something the owner can’t afford to go through anymore, and a sad message they now must relay to the community.
“They have been very loyal. Customers are always saying we love your BBQ hope you don’t close, it’s too bad to actually have to give them that news,” says Sexton.
Smokey’s is looking to get rid of all their meat and sides by their last day, which is Sunday.
If they don’t sell it all, they plan to give it to charity.
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