The Kansas City Chiefs have a fan base around the country with support in most of the biggest cities that have their own football teams. John Brown BBQ owner Josh Bowen prides his restaurant on its delicious Kansas City Style BBQ, serving up a bit of the midwest to the people of New York City.
Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. recently sat down with Bowen, who shared his reaction to the celebration at the restaurant after the Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV and its effects on his business weeks after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Yeah, I mean, it was already crazy. It’s already like just the most slam-packed that’s ever been,” said Bowen. “We were far, far beyond the fire code. And the craziest thing was — the experience at our place is we have a back patio area with a TV — probably half the people were back there. And I don’t know what happened, like the splitter overheated or something. But the TV went out in the back, which is like the only TV, so everybody piled into an already just insanely packed house inside. And then Damien Williams scored that touchdown probably about 30 seconds later and all was just chaos from that point on, which was awesome. So, good times. I hope for a couple more.”
John Brown BBQ is well known for its tagline, “The Official Kansas City Chiefs Bar in New York City,” to accompany its Kansas City BBQ-style meals. Former players such as Tony Richardson and Dante Hall have visited to watch games with the loyal Chiefs fan base.
The Super Bowl-winning run in 2019 brought in a significant number of customers before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic providing essential help for the restaurant’s future.
“(The Chiefs) also saved my business in New York City too,” said Bowen “We had two restaurants at the time, and basically the Super Bowl, the run there was like by far the busiest days we’ve ever had. And that happened two weeks before everything went to hell. Like we sent our staff home on what their full pay is and like, even a little bit extra for those who couldn’t get their full pay or don’t have the safety net as we could maybe call it. So yeah, basically (Patrick Mahomes) left us kind of like — he saved us. Because I know other people — they just didn’t talk to their employees for six months and tried to pay them a nickel at a time because nobody thought they were going to be closed down and stop making money.”
The consistent stream of Chiefs fans who found a home at John Brown BBQ during that magical postseason run helped keep the business afloat during uncertain times. To this day, Bowen credits Mahomes and the Chiefs for saving his business.
“But yeah, man, Patrick Mahomes saved my restaurant,” Bowen said.
You can listen to our full interview with Bowen on the latest episode of The Chiefs Wire Podcast.
John Brown BBQ is located at 27-20 40th Ave, Queens, NY (Long Island City), for the many members of Chiefs Kingdom that reside in New York City.
