One of KC’s best barbecue joints is expanding—big time.
Since opening in the West Bottoms in 2020, Chef J BBQ‘s tender ribs and massive meat platters have steadily earned the barbecue restaurant recognition as one of best in KC. (We even dubbed it KC’s No. 1 barbecue restaurant in 2023.) Now owners Justin Easterwood and Terra Whipple are heading north, opening a second location in North Kansas City (1900 Clay St., NKC). The new restaurant will feature several major additions, including an open smokehouse, a patio, five 1,000-gallon custom offset pits and a bread and pastry program – all expected to be up and running by this summer, just in time for the World Cup.
“We’ve heard the complaints since we’ve been around – that we run out of food, it’s hard to get, we’re only open during certain hours, this and that,” Easterwood says. “So now that will no longer be an issue. This new restaurant is going to be open seven days a week with lunch and dinner service.”…