Owner decides to sell his Kansas City-area barbecue restaurant: ‘I work 16-hour days’
When Carlos Mortera opened a Kansas City barbecue restaurant, he put his own spin on it to set it apart from the nearly 100 barbecue operations already in the region.
Poio Mexican BBQ would use some Mexican and Asian flavors and techniques that he grew up with and later made for his family.
“I’m Mexican but I like cooking Asian, something I like to eat personally,” he said Thursday.
But now Mortera plans to sell Poio, at 800 S. Seventh St. in Kansas City, Kansas. The 2,000-square-foot restaurant has a drive-thru and patio. The purchase price is $250,000, including a license agreement for a spot in the new airport. It will remain open.
“I work 16-hour-days, six-days-a-week, sometimes seven,” he said. “I have a 2-year-old and a 7-month-old that I sometimes don’t see for two or three days. And I have some health reasons that I need to relieve stress,” he said. “I don’t care about the money, I care about the time.”
He first opened Poio at 1000 W. 25th St. in 2018, on the city’s West Side. It closed in November 2020 due to the pandemic
Then he bought a former Subway in Kansas City, Kansas, painted it black with bright red and white accents, and opened Poio there in May 2021.
It offers grilled chicken, pork spare ribs, Filipino adobo pork carnitas, jackfruit carnitas, rice bowls, nachos, pork sandwiches, tortillas, salsa and house pickles, and sides such as chili lime charred broccoli, lemon pepper potatoes, charred carrots, cabbage slaw, and poblano macaroni and cheese.
First lady Jill Biden and her entourage took a detour on the way to the airport to pick up lunch at Poio during the final week of National Hispanic Heritage Month in October.
Mortera had hoped to franchise the operation. For now he will concentrate on his The Bite Catering Co. and restaurant consulting operation. He is already in talks with several prospective buyers for Poio.
“It was a hard decision to sell it. Maybe one day I will open another restaurant,” he said.
This story was originally published September 2, 2022 at 5:00 AM.