Kansas City area barbecue restaurant opens with Bar-B-Cubans, brisket burgers, more

North Kansas City’s F325 BBQ has been a dream of James and Lisa Huey’s for more than a dozen years.

On Saturday, they softly opened the restaurant at 1825 Buchanan St.

“We are highly dedicated to quality, consistency, service and just having fun,” Lisa Huey said.

James Huey’s mother owned restaurants in Texas and he loved helping out as a teenager.

He competed on the national barbecue circuit a decade or so ago, and since then has filled in for his barbecue mentors here and there, sticking to Kansas City’s traditional “low and slow” method.

Meanwhile, he traveled widely in the South for his corporate sales job, stopping at barbecue restaurants along the way and taking the best tips to incorporate in his own barbecue.

He took to a “hot and fast” method — well, relatively fast at four to five hours — that he said makes for tender meat in record time.

“It adds a whole other level of texture and flavor, a complexity in my opinion, but you have to pay more attention to it as you are cooking, a more hands-on approach,” he said.

Lisa Huey also had a corporate career building customer service teams.

In October 2020, the Hueys opened a food truck called Fahrenheit 325° Barbeque, named for the temperature they once used to cook the meat. They called it a “stepping stone” to a restaurant.

It has been so successful, the couple, who live in the Northland, quit their corporate jobs in September to work on the new North Kansas City spot.

“Kansas City is a barbecue town and I’ve never been scared of competition,” he said. “I just wanted to have more choices up North.”

F325 BBQ offers plates with a choice of pulled pork, house-made kielbasa, turkey, ham, brisket, burnt ends or ribs. The plates come with a choice of two sides.

Sandwiches include the Sweet Carolina (pulled pork topped with coleslaw on a brioche bun), the Stockyard (brisket topped with coleslaw on a brioche bun) and the Bar-B-Cuban (a Cuban-styled baguette stacked with smoked ham, pulled pork and Swiss cheese).

It has such sides as whiskey sweet potato casserole, collard greens, baked beans and steak fries.

Other menu items include a brisket burger, black bean burger, pulled jackfruit, smoked turkey club Cobb salad, pimento cheese bacon dip, loaded macaroni and cheese, pulled pork loaded tots and fried pickles.

One of their most popular food truck sides is the F325’s Mac & Cheese with creamy smoked spinach artichoke cheese sauce.

The new restaurant and bar has a patio and will have live music on the weekends. They also plan to add a Sunday brunch later with such items as smoked prime rib, shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy, and brunch drinks.

They hope to introduce a Taco Tuesdays menu by the end of the month.

The space has held several restaurants including LC’s on 18th and Repeal 18th Bar & Bistro.

Hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Sunday hours are tentatively 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. but may change once brunch is introduced.

This story was originally published October 22, 2022 at 5:30 AM.