Smokin’ Guns BBQ opened in 2003, but the story of Phil and Linda Hopkins’ love for barbecue goes back to 1997. In that year, Phil and Linda competed in their first BBQ contest and quickly realized that they had a natural knack for creating great barbecue.

Over the next few years, they competed in several competitions across over a dozen states, most notably taking the title of Grand Champion at the 1999 Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue Contest. In this event, against 41 other teams, they won 1st place for best brisket, 2nd in pork, 4th in desserts, and 5th in ribs.

This success inspired them to create their own line of barbecue rubs a year later. Their rubs would regularly sell out, and by 2003, after a 14-year career as a supervisor at a metal fabrication plant, Phil had left his job to open Smokin’ Guns BBQ & Catering in North Kansas City. Three years later, Linda left her job of 25 years as a technical writer to join him and they haven’t looked back.

Today, the Hopkins family continues to sell the best plates in Kansas City. If you want a taste of what award-winning, consistently excellent barbecue tastes like, drop into Smokin’ Guns BBQ today.