A footballer’s unconventional path to barbecue

“… ball is loose at the 12-yard line, recovered by Northwest Missouri State, and THEY WIN IT!” 

Former footballer Brandon Simpson can’t help but smile when reminiscing about his college team’s winning play. “It was the greatest game ever played,” he says.

Simpson didn’t hear ESPN’s Dave Barnett call of the 1999 NCAA Division II National Football Championship because he was on the field, celebrating with his teammates. The Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats had defeated Carson-Newman in a four-overtime thriller to secure a second consecutive title. 

It was an unexpected storybook ending to the defensive end’s college career. A Division I recruit out of Grandview High School, Simpson fought for playing time at K-State before finding his fit at Northwest. His path to barbecue was just as unconventional.  

“I didn’t start out doing barbecue,” Simpson says, “When I was at Northwest, I had a vision for a place called Jazzy B’s that was going to be a seafood steakhouse around 18th & Vine.” 

But Jazzy B’s had to wait. After two years in the Arena Football League, Simpson worked in construction sales, then sold pianos, but he was always cooking. Friends and family urged him to do more. Around 2009, inspired by the rise of food trucks, he gave it a shot. “Kansas City wasn’t food truck-friendly back then,” he says. “We were all trying to figure it out.”

Simpson, who loves all types of food and the thrill of experimentation, made the plunge and purchased a food truck. The truck became his test kitchen where culinary genres collided. “I was taking things Kansas Citians knew and adding barbecue to them,” he says. Cajun favorites, Tex-Mex staples and even barbecue sushi made the menu. 

Finding strong support in Lee’s Summit, Simpson opened Jazzy B’s Diner in 2016. “In the beginning, I didn’t want to get coined as just a barbecue restaurant,” he says. ”I wanted to show all the other things I could do.”

Seven years later, he moved to a larger spot (320 Southwest Blue Parkway, Lee’s Summit), dropping “Diner” from the name but not the fusion spirit that fueled it. 

At Jazzy B’s, you can enjoy sandwiches and traditional barbecue platters, but you can also find po’ boys, quesadillas and one of the city’s best smoked vegetarian options: a fried grilled cheese packed with portobello mushrooms.  

The Garlic Cheesy Corn has a depth of flavor rarely found in the dish. Simpson’s Miles Davis Baked Beans, Jazzy Fries and Blue Cheese Potato Salad similarly add a flair to the classics. Customer favorites like Reuben egg rolls and fried crab balls show just how far he’ll push the definition of KC barbecue. “I like to jazz up what people think barbecue is about,” Simpson says.

The wide-ranging diversity of Jazzy B’s menu makes it a destination for all. For Simpson, it’s about community. “The history of barbecue is getting together with friends, family, even strangers that aren’t friends yet and talking about each bite, sharing an experience. That’s huge.”

Simpson knows the power of a meal. Nearly 30 years after eating team dinners at Northwest Missouri’s hangout Toot-Toot in Bethany, Missouri, he still stops in when he’s nearby. Now he gets to feed the teams. When Northwest heads south this season—including an end-of-year rivalry tilt against Pittsburg State at Children’s Mercy Park—Simpson knows one of those trips will mean a Friday night team dinner at Jazzy B’s. 

During football season, the Bearcats are always on Jazzy B’s big screens, and it’s a place for alumni and fans to gather over trays of smoked meat. When football isn’t on the menu, live music fills the stage opposite Simpson’s No. 99 jersey hanging on the wall. 

It’s a place where diners support local teams and music and where teammates come to bond. It’s a place for making memories, Simpson says.

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