Welcome to the smoke show. The Museum of BBQ, the world’s first museum focused on all aspects of barbecue, will open at Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri, in the spring of 2025.
The immersive experience will feature rooms dedicated to the elements and regions of barbecue, alongside a curated gift shop featuring rubs, sauces, and BBQ-themed goods.
“Barbecue is a feast for your senses,” says founder Jonathan Bender. “Here in one of the BBQ capitals of the world, we’re creating a place where you can immerse yourself in the stories of barbecue.”
Museumgoers will get to follow two storytelling trails through the interactive exhibits that span 4,223 sq ft. They’ll first learn about the elements of barbecue (Meat, Rub/Spice, Wood, Fire, Smoke, and Sauce) to see how a pitmaster turns their favorite cut of meat into something delicious.
Then, they’ll travel through the main American regions of barbecue (the Carolinas, Memphis, Texas, and Kansas City) to discover how each place has developed its own flavor. There’s even a pit stop where you can play in an oversized crock of “barbecued beans.”
“This is a place where barbecue comes alive,” says Bender, who is opening the Museum of BBQ with chef and restaurateur Alex Pope as a partner. “We want you to play and learn and come away with an appreciation for the joy and community that is part of barbecue culture.”
The Museum’s gift shop will feature sauces and rubs from the four main American regions of barbecue and the chance to add a bit of drip to your wardrobe with hats, aprons, and shirts.
Leading up to the Spring 2025 opening, visitors to the Crown Center Shops can enjoy a whimsical “sneak peek” of a tiny Museum of BBQ near the Museum’s entrance. The miniature provides just a taste of what they can expect.
Home to more than 100 local BBQ restaurants and countless competitions of all sizes, the entire Kansas City metro gets even more fired up for two weeks every year as the host of the American Royal World Series of Barbecue, known as the world’s biggest barbecue contest, attracting thousands of attendees and more than 500 barbecue teams from across the globe.
“Kansas City is a natural home for the Museum of BBQ,” says Bender. “Barbecue is synonymous with the city because of the rich traditions here and we’re proud to bring the world’s first museum dedicated to barbecue to KC.”
Visit KC’s 2023 statistics demonstrate how Kansas City has established itself as a regional and national draw: Last year, 28.4 million visitors to the Kansas City metro generated $4 billion in direct economic impact, and the city secured 384 convention center meetings leading to around 460,000 occupied hotel room nights and an economic impact of nearly $428 million.
The Museum of BBQ joins an impressive roster of family-friendly destinations within the Crown Center complex, which is also home to the international headquarters of Hallmark Cards. After enjoying the Museum of BBQ, visitors can continue a day of exploration, entertainment and education at SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium, LEGOLAND® Discovery Center, The Coterie Theatre, Hallmark Visitors Center and Kaleidoscope art-making space for kids. Kansas City’s historic Union Station (with Science City and renowned traveling exhibits) and the National WWI Museum and Memorial are just across the street, and Crown Center’s two world-class hotels complete this visitor destination.
“We thrilled to welcome the Museum of BBQ and excited to have this new attraction at Crown Center,” said Stacey Paine, president of Crown Center Redevelopment Corporation. “As Kansas Citians, we are fortunate to enjoy a great variety of barbecue restaurants and events, and we believe the broad appeal of barbecue will make this unique museum a destination for local and national visitors alike.”
ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF BBQ
The Museum of BBQ will open in Crown Center in the spring of 2025. The Museum is located on the second floor of the Crown Center Shops (2450 Grand Boulevard, Suite 231, Kansas City, Mo., 64108). Visit the Museum online at museumofbbq.co.