Pitmaster IndexDeborah Jones
Co-Owner & Pitmaster
Deborah Jones
Jones Bar-B-Q38+ years activeKansas City, KS
Signature:Ribs
Deborah Jones and her sister Mary run Jones Bar-B-Q in Kansas City, KS, carrying forward a family BBQ tradition started by their father, Leavy Jones. The Jones sisters operate a small, no-frills building with limited hours, cooking over an open pit with hickory wood. Their secret-recipe sauce is the signature. A 2019 appearance on Netflix's 'Queer Eye' brought national attention, but the operation remains unchanged — small, personal, and rooted in community.
Technique
Open-pit cooking over hickory wood. Ribs are slow-smoked and finished with a family sauce recipe. The technique is traditional and unchanged — consistency comes from decades of repetition.
Recognition
- Featured in national food media (Queer Eye, Bloomberg)
Influences
Jones family BBQ traditionKCK community cookingHenry Perry heritage