KC’s Mean Mule Distillery founder killed in highway motorcycle crash
The founder of Kansas City distillery, Mean Mule Distilling Company, was killed in a motorcycle crash on Sunday morning, police and the distillery confirmed.
On social media, the company released a statement remembering its founder, Jeff Evans, 37, for his “spirit, humor, and craftsmanship” that helped shape the company, located in the Crossroads at 1733 Locust Street.
“It’s with shattered hearts that we share the loss of our founder and friend, Jeff Evans, who passed away in a motorcycle accident this weekend,” the statement read. “Alongside his wife and our cofounder, Meg, Jeff built more than a distillery — he built a community.”
Evans was driving a red, white, and blue Honda Africa Twin motorcycle eastbound on I-670 when he crashed, according to a Kansas City police report. The motorcycle changed lanes in an attempt to take the I-29/I-35 entrance ramp from I-670, according to police. As the motorcycle was changing lanes, it struck the right passenger side of a blue Dodge Charger that was traveling eastbound on I-670.
Evans was ejected off the motorcycle and was pronounced deceased at the scene, police said. The driver and front seat passenger of the Dodge were uninjured in the collision.
Mean Mule is closed on Tuesday, but will reopen Wednesday so people can come honor Evans’s life.
“Remember him with us, grieve with us, raise a glass with us, and share the stories and laughter he gave us,” the statement read. People can also submit their favorite memories of Evans online with the distillery.
“Thank you for loving Jeff and for being part of our beautiful Mean Mule family.”
A fundraiser has begun for Evans’s family, his wife whom he co-founded Mean Mule, Meg, and their son, Felix. It has raised over $3,000 of its $12,000 goal.
“Jeff’s greatest joy in life was being a dad. He was all in. He was patient, present, and full of love,” the fundraiser states. “Felix was his world. He was building a future filled with opportunity and stability for his son. That future has now changed in a way no one could have prepared for.”
Mean Mule opened for business in 2016. Evans’s wife, Meg, comes from a family of German immigrants who were distillers; her great-great-grandmother built a still and started a company, Evans told The Star in 2018.
Evans was a mechanical engineer, designing machines for auto brands before switching to developing the distillery. The company’s stills are made by hand, Evans said, and were all designed and 3D modeled, and manufactured by Evans.
The name Mean Mule comes from a story Meg Evans’s grandmother frequently told about how Evans’s grandfather kept the family business alive during Prohibition.
“One day, a customer thought he got a bad deal and reported my grandfather to the fed,” Jeff Evans told The Star. “When they came, all 12 kids were standing on the front porch of the house. Grandpa ran off into the woods. The feds couldn’t find him, but they saw a building that would be perfect for a still. It looked perfect, because it was. They decided to check it out.
“What they didn’t know was that my grandfather had built a false floor and hidden his equipment under there,” Evans said. “On top, he had put the meanest mule he could find. When the guys kicked open the door, they were greeted with 900 pounds of mean Missouri fury. One guy grabbed the other. They ran down the driveway and never came back. That mean mule saved generations of family distilling.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2025 at 5:14 PM.
