Danny Edwards, acclaimed Kansas City barbecue master, restaurant owner, dies at 67

Update: Services for Danny Edwards will be livestreamed. Details below.

Kansas City has lost another prominent restaurateur.

Danny Edwards, 67, owner and operator of Danny Edwards Blvd BBQ, died Jan. 21.

“Friends and family have been coming in. He knows a lot of people,” said Joel Bremer, who purchased the restaurant three years ago.

Bremer said Edwards died in his sleep. Family members could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

“He was an accomplished chef and loved to cook for his family and friends,” his obituary said. “Danny had a natural gift of conversation and loved sharing his ‘Dannyisms’ and stories of adventurous living. He lived what he believed in a big way, understanding and knowing what he stood for.”

Jake “Big Jake” Edwards was Danny’s dad, who learned to barbecue while in Texas. In 1938 the elder Edwards opened his first Old Southern Pit restaurant at 1018 Baltimore Ave. He had five locations by 1960.

Danny took over the original location in 1980, renaming it Lil’ Jake’s. He relocated when the city wanted to put a parking garage in the spot.

Lil’ Jake’s Eat It An’ Beat It, at 1227 Grand Blvd., was then the only authentic barbecue restaurant within the downtown freeway loop.

And it thrived for years. Until downtown redevelopment started booming and the little cinder-block eatery with just 18 seats was suddenly on prime real estate near what is now T-Mobile Center.

Developers got control of the block but he got to negotiate his exit. “I don’t have any choice but to be happy,” he said.

In 2007, he relocated the restaurant to 2900 Southwest Blvd. and changed the name to Danny Edwards. It seats 70 people and has its own parking lot. A back section with lunch counters and neon sign is in homage to the old spot on Grand.

Even the 450-pound pink concrete pig that stood guard at the old location made the move.

In 2009, Zagat Survey selected three area barbecues in its list of top 10 restaurants in Kansas City.

“In 1980, Danny Edwards went head to head with legendary Gates Bar-B-Q and Arthur Bryant’s. Not only did it survive, it often makes top barbecue lists, right along with them,” Zagat said.

At the time, Edwards told The Star he didn’t worry about what other barbecues have, “just worried about what I sell.

“You just do your best. I’m the one back here doing the cooking. It really makes me happy seeing all these people at the door every day, even in a depressed economy. They just want a good product at a reasonable price.”

A Celebration of Life will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday at Ward Parkway Presbyterian Church, 7406 Ward Parkway. Masks will be required. The service will be livestreamed here: youtu.be/GygvqQON1B4

According to the obituary, Danny was preceded in death by his parents, Jake and Mary Edwards. He is survived by his wife, Priscilla; sons, RJ and John; a sister, Linda (Kevin) Paul; a nephew, Jake; his bird dogs, Lilly and Britty and Amber the cat.

The local restaurant industry recently lost two other successful restaurateurs.

Rob Magee, founder of the two Q39 barbecue restaurants, died in early December after a “five-and-a-half-year journey with colon cancer,” his family said.

Gary Zancanelli Jr., 56, founder of the area Red Door Woodfired Grill restaurants died early this month. The cause of his death was not released.