Kansas City area barbecue has long lines and sellouts. It’s opening a new restaurant
Since 2019, Raytown’s Harp Barbecue has been drawing long lines for its weekend pop-ups, as well as landing on some national “best barbecue” lists.
Now founder Tyler Harp has signed a lease for his own restaurant space. He hopes to open at 6633 Raytown Road, Raytown, in November.
His father, uncle and their friends were avid contestants on the barbecue competition circuit when he was growing up and he would often tag along. After high school he worked at a butcher shop and then the Hereford House, but he kept honing his barbecue skills on the side.
In 2016, he set up his smoker on the driveway of his home in Independence and started selling barbecue by word-of-mouth.
Harp has been holding a Saturday pop-up at Crane Brewing in Raytown since March 2019 and added Friday hours about 18 months ago. Customers form long lines that snake through the back rooms of the brewery, and Harp often sells out — with groans from fans as they see a favorite crossed off the list.
The menu typically includes brisket, ribs, pulled pork, jalapeno cheese sausage and turkey. Sides include cheesy corn, Tater Tot casserole, sweet potato burnt ends and baked beans.
His new location is within walking distance of Crane Brewing.
“We have been looking for a long time. It is good to get that weight off our back,” he said. “We’re still in Raytown, where we planted our roots, and we are still off the Rock Island Trail. But it will be nice to have actual drive-by traffic.
“There are still a lot of Raytown people that don’t know where we are. We are just a little bit hidden in the industrial park.”
He plans to hire about a dozen workers. The former Mexican restaurant also will be remodeled to give it more of a barbecue restaurant feel.
“Now that we have a kitchen we are going to be expanding the menu,” Harp said. “But we aren’t going to get crazy right out of the gate. It will be a slow process.”
This story was originally published September 20, 2022 at 3:41 PM.