Our list of iconic Black-owned Wichita restaurants was missing a few barbecue greats
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Last week — in honor of Black History Month — I reached out to Black historians in Wichita as well as The African American History Museum for help compiling a list of some of the most influential Black-owned restaurants from Wichita’s past.
And the list I published in the paper, which included favorites like Adams Barbecue, Auntie Sweet’s Bar-B-Que, Rudy’s BBQ, Bill’s Le Gourmet and Mama Loves, got people talking and reminiscing. It turns out that I missed a few famous barbecue restaurants that definitely deserved a mention.
So here’s Part II of my report on some of the Black-owned restaurants from Wichita’s past made an impact on the city. I hope you enjoy the amazing old photos I found of some of the owners, which were buried deep in the Wichita Eagle archives.
R&S Bar-B-Q
The omitted restaurant I heard most about was R&S Bar-B-Q, which was owned by Charles and Hattie Ray. The couple opened the restaurant in 1976 in an aluminum sided building on East 13th Street with room for 60. When the restaurant was open, it wasn’t unusual to see fans standing in a line that stretched across the back of the building and out the door.
Charles Ray got his start with Adams Barbecue, a restaurant I profiled last week. Jerome Adams opened that restaurant in 1949, and it was still popular when Adams died in 1970. One of Charles’ and Hattie’s four children worked at Adams, and Charles was then asked to manage the place. But six years later, he and Hattie decided to open their own place.
R&S was popular with everyone in town, from business people who’d stop by for lunch to Wichita State University students who’d walk over for a meal. They’d find Charles behind the counter, slicing brisket and ribs onto paper plates while Hattie filled drink orders and operated the cash register.
In the beginning, the couple opened R&S five days a week. Then they cut that down to four. By the time they decided to sell the restaurant in 1992, they were closing for the entire month of August and for two weeks on either side of Christmas. During the week, they were open only from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays. Wichita would happily take what it could get.
Two couples teamed up to buy the restaurant when Charles and Hattie were ready to retire, and Charles agreed to stay on for eight weeks to teach them his secrets. By 1996, R&S had a new owner, and it appears to have closed in 2001. It also had a brief revival in 2007, when some partners bought Ray’s old recipes and opened and R&S where Doo-Dah Diner is now.
Pit’s Bar-B-Q
People still remember the succulent barbecue Willie White cooked up at his Pit’s Bar-B-Q restaurant through the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. But even more than that, they remember White — often referred to by friends and customers as “Brother Willie.”
White and his wife, Sarah, moved to Wichita in 1945 from Kilgore, Texas, and he started working as a butcher at a local meat packing plant. In the late 1940s, he left his job to open a small cafe at 1704 N. Mosley, where it operated until the early 1970s, when he moved it to a spot at 1003 E. First St. that had room for nine tables. He also had a cafe at 2025 S. Oliver, and he would cook 500 pounds of meat in his basement oven to supply both of his restaurants. He often worked 72 hours a week and almost always donned a red apron and a red-and-white paper cap.
White was also a preacher who helped found a church at 3301 E. Roseberry called “Everybody’s Church.” He was a singer and a poet, and he’d write his poetry out on poster board and tack it to the walls in the restaurant. In his later years at the restaurant, he’d often sit and play his guitar and sing gospel hymns while his daughter, Mary, ran the place.
White hung up his apron for the last time on Christmas Eve 1991, when he left his business in Mary’s hands and moved back to Texas. Pit’s Bar-B-Q continued to operate until about 1997.
Julius’ Rib Cage
This Wichita barbecue institution first started when Julius Utsey partnered with grocery store owner Brad Jabara in the late 1980s to open a carryout barbecue concession inside Jabara’s grocery store — Jabara Bros. Low-Priced Foods at 21st and Grove. It became popular for Utsey’s homemade sauce and barbecue cooking method.
In 1991, Jabara and Utsey opened a small stand-alone restaurant at 6160 E. 21st St., which had just seven tables and offered a simple menu of sandwiches, dinners and combos featuring things like smoked beef brisket, pork ribs, hot links, smoked bologna sandwiches and sweet desserts. The following year, Jabara Bros. closed and the barbecue stand relocated to 4703 E. 13th. Then, the tiny restaurant at 6760 E. 21st St. closed and Jabara and Utsey moved it to the spot Selmon Bros. Fine Bar-B-Q was vacating at 300 S. Greenwich.
New owners of the restaurant closed the remaining Julius Ribcage on 13th Street in 2008 but are still operating Julius Ribcage II, which opened in the late 1990s at 2958 S. Seneca.
Georgio’s Restaurant
In the early 1980s, George Moore opened Georgio’s Restaurant at 2213 E. 21st St., and it was known for its menu of soul food dishes like chicken fried steak, fried chicken, and short ribs. Moore would famously dish up his specialties after the clubs closed on weekend nights, and he was famously in possession of football star Barry Sanders’ Heisman Trophy. The two men were close friends, and Moore displayed the trophy under glass in his restaurant — though he carried it home every night to keep it safe.
Georgio’s, which during the decade it was open became a Wichita cultural institution, closed in 1991. Moore said at the time that there wasn’t enough business to keep it going. He died in 2014, but Moore’s son, Steve, still runs a barbecue and soul food stand under the canopy of an old gas station at 13th and Hydraulic. It’s called Georgio’s II BBQ, and it’s open from 12:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and from 3 to 9:30 p.m. Saturdays.
Jim’s Speedway
When well-known Adams Barbecue owner Jerome Adams died in 1970, employee Charles Ray took over managing it. But six years later, Ray left to open his own place — the equally famous R&S Barbecue. That’s when Adams’ widow, Helen, turned the restaurant over to Jim and Rennie Williams, who kept Adams going until the mid 1980s.
But Jim Williams, who early in his career had worked as a chef at the Aliss Hotel and at the Holiday Inn Plaza, also was known for his own recipes — and for his own barbecue businesses. He also owned Jim’s Speedway Barbecue at 2238 N. Amidon, selling the food made popular when he ran a little barbecue concession stand at 81 Speedway. He also ran a burger stand at a local auction house and was known for special seasonings and sauces.
His grandson, Gary Medlock, said that he was the go-to barbecue caterer for some of Wichita’s biggest companies in the 1970s and 1980s.
“Everybody liked everything he served,” Gary said. “He had a special sauce recipe that he took to the grave with him.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 2:49 PM.
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