Owner of BBQ food trucks is expanding new Johnson County spot with a ‘gourmet touch’

Fans of the mobile Jonathan’s Gourmet Wood-Fire BBQ & Seafood longed for a brick-and-mortar location so they wouldn’t have to search for the food trucks.

So a year ago, John Dawkins and his 20-year-old son, John, opened a small restaurant in Olathe’s Crossroads Shopping Center, 2111 E. Crossroads Lane, No. 106.

It has limited seating indoors and on the patio. One of their three food trucks also has been parked in front for drive-thru orders during the pandemic, but it will soon hit the road again.

Now, the father and son team are more than doubling the size of the restaurant by taking a space next door. When the expanded space opens in about six to eight weeks, the restaurant will seat 170 people inside and on the patio.

They also will have a stage for live music and comedy acts, karaoke and other entertainment, along with televisions on the patio and in the to-go area for viewing the shows. A bar will serve beer, wine and margaritas.

Jonathan’s got its start as a full-service restaurant in Grandview from 1995 to 1998. Then, another family leased the space from Dawkins for a different restaurant.

He later became an international contractor.

“That’s my bread and butter, and it allows me to do other things that I love, like the barbecue,“ Dawkins said. “And I have been a minister since I was about 11 years old. My businesses fund my ministries.”

About seven years ago, he resurrected Jonathan’s as a smoker in the parking area of Big Lots in Olathe and then added the food trucks.

The barbecue offers brisket, pulled pork, ribs, chicken, smoked sausage and smoked turkey.

“I think the process sets us apart. We smoke with a hickory/oak/cherry combination and we have our own rub,” he said. “And you have to try my peach cobbler. It’s been a family recipe for 25 years.”

He also has seafood and chicken combos including tilapia, catfish, whiting, shrimp and chicken tenders. Sides include pineapple baked beans, jalapeno poppers, okra, onion rings, sweet fried corn, and macaroni and cheese bites.

“We are a gourmet barbecue restaurant which means you are changing the normal process and adding something,” Dawkins said. “This is why the beans are pineapple baked beans. It is the gourmet touch that sets us apart.”