Mindy Hargesheimer (00:00:00):
Hey guys. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm really excited for a very delicious episode today. I have Kelly McGee, who is the CEO and co-founder of Q 39. You know, the restaurants, you love them. We get into the backstory of the incredible success, how they came to be, how they are growing immensely right now. And we also get into some very heartfelt discussions about her husband who passed away from colon cancer and what Q 39 is doing today to play a part in awareness and support for that. Um, but we get into some fun details about the cuisine, the flavors, everything in between. So I hope you really enjoy our conversation and get excited to get out to Q 39. Thanks so much for coming on.
Kelly Magee (00:00:47):
Thank you for having me.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:00:48):
We were just saying we probably have crossed paths many times through Q 39, content creator stuff, you know, different events that are going on, but we've never actually met in person. And so I'm so excited to meet you and honored.
Kelly Magee (00:00:59):
Thank you. Yeah,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:00:59):
Thank you. This is gonna be fun. Okay, so Kelly McGee, tell us who you are and what you are most excited about for Q 39 this year. And we have a lot to get into, but let's kinda start there.
Kelly Magee (00:01:08):
Sure. So I am co-founder and CEO of Q 39 restaurants.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:12):
Fantastic. So your background goes back to the first restaurant opening in 2014.
Kelly Magee (00:01:18):
That's right, yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:19):
Is that what it was? So let's kind of go back, well, one, let's do a little, um, background on you. Sure. Are you from Kansas City? Let's do a little kind of overview of who you are so people can kind of connect with like your association with Kansas City and KU as well. Absolutely,
Kelly Magee (00:01:32):
Yes. So I am, I can call myself a native Kansas City person. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:01:35):
I
Kelly Magee (00:01:35):
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Graduated, um, here of high school showing Mission South. Okay. And, um, my parents are small town Kansas folks, and so they just love the Kansas City area. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And they're still here. And, um, they both went to ku, so, you know, it such a great place, family. Yeah. So, of course my brother and I are Jayhawks also, so, yeah. And then, um, I lived, um, in St. Louis for a little while, but came back here because it's such a great place to raise a family. Yeah. I have a great quality of life.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:00):
And you have a few kids, right?
Kelly Magee (00:02:01):
Yes, I've
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:02):
Raised
Kelly Magee (00:02:02):
Four of them, yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:03):
Four of them. Yes. And I think, did I see a few of them went to KU as well? Yes.
Kelly Magee (00:02:06):
They all,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:06):
It's like a long like lineage of KU graduates going on. Correct,
Kelly Magee (00:02:09):
Correct. So yes, all, all three of them one went to Culinary Institute following in dad's footsteps.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:14):
Yeah. Yeah. But the
Kelly Magee (00:02:15):
Other three are all Jayhawks. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:16):
As well
Kelly Magee (00:02:16):
As all my nieces and nephews, so,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:18):
Yeah. Oh my gosh. Fantastic. Well, everybody who is either a Lawrence fan, a KU fan, we're gonna get into Lawrence opening up here in a few weeks, which is your third or fourth location? It's our
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Kelly Magee (00:02:27):
Third location. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:28):
Because I think you also have Lee Summit, is that happening as well? Yes. It's
Kelly Magee (00:02:31):
Fast on, on the heels of that one coming up in May.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:02:34):
Okay. Oh, may. All right. Perfect. Oh my gosh. So great. Okay. So let's kind of go back to how Q 39 came about. If we wanna talk about your husband and how this all began, and tell us kind of the fun backstory as to how the concept came to be. And I know it's long and storied, I'm sure, but absolutely. Would love to hear your take
Kelly Magee (00:02:52):
On that. It Sure. Well, it's, um, it's terrific because he graduated from the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, New York. Yeah. Um, in the mid eighties. And he, um, had a dream someday to either be a celebrity chef or own his own restaurant.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:03:04):
Okay.
Kelly Magee (00:03:04):
And he would've excelled at either Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:03:07):
But
Kelly Magee (00:03:07):
Obviously we, spoiler alert, we know where that ended up.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:03:09):
Right.
Kelly Magee (00:03:10):
And he, um, chose a hotel career path for, as a chef and was, um, executive chef and food and beverage directors around different hotel groups in the country. Yeah. And he ended up here in Kansas City.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:03:22):
So he just got an offer to come to Kansas City. Correct. So it was just kind of his fate to end up here. Kelly Magee (00:03:27):
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It was his, he just had an offer and one of his interesting things that he would do wherever he happened to live, he would take up the local pastime or hobby. So for example, he was in North Carolina for a while and he owned a boat and went water skiing three or four times a week.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:03:42):
Oh my gosh.
Kelly Magee (00:03:42):
And then he was in Denver prior to Kansas City. He sold his boat, purchased motocross motorcycles and would actually enter like amateur competitions and do that. So he was competitive. Love it. Enjoy adventurous spirit. Enjoy region. Yes. Yes. Completely. So when you move to Kansas City and you're gonna take up a local pastime here, barbecuing is probably a good thing to choose.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:02):
First thing that comes to mind. Yes, yes, yes.
Kelly Magee (00:04:05):
Well,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:05):
When did you guys meet? What is your story of how you came together met?
Kelly Magee (00:04:08):
Sure. We met in 2002. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:10):
And,
Kelly Magee (00:04:10):
Um, we both, um, we had previous marriages, but we were both, um, single parents.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:15):
Yep.
Kelly Magee (00:04:16):
And, um, just really connected.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:18):
Yeah. So met in Kansas City?
Kelly Magee (00:04:20):
Correct.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:20):
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Okay. And at the time, was he, is this when the, was it Munch and Hogs? Was that when he got into it? Yes. That's great.
Kelly Magee (00:04:26):
That's the name he started in before I met, um, his colleagues at the hotel. They said, oh, let's go participate in this, uh, thing. It's the Lenexa Great Barbecue Battle.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:35):
Okay. This
Kelly Magee (00:04:36):
First contest in 2002.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:38):
Okay.
Kelly Magee (00:04:38):
And then we met shortly thereafter about September-ish.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:42):
Okay.
Kelly Magee (00:04:43):
So,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:43):
Yeah. And what were you doing at the time? So
Kelly Magee (00:04:45):
I was at Hallmark. I had started
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:47):
My career
Kelly Magee (00:04:48):
There. Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:48):
So I had,
Kelly Magee (00:04:49):
Uh, worked in business development, strategic planning. Um, I had been a buyer at Dillard's department stores way back in the day. Good
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:55):
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Old Dillard's. Yes.
Kelly Magee (00:04:55):
Grew
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:04:56):
Up with Dillard's. Yes. They're still around, but
Kelly Magee (00:04:58):
Absolutely <laugh>. Well, it was a, it was a fun job. It's kind of getting a little mini MBA 'cause you really have, um, the opportunity to develop how much money you're making. People think it's like a shopping trip. No. It's, you need to buy things that are gonna sell, that you need to turn around and make money on. Yeah. So you can buy more things that sell.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:05:14):
Well, and so obviously you mentioned you're the CEO of Q 39. Yes. And we were even talking before we started recording about the world of marketing. We've been talking a lot about, um, not only the world today and how much there is to learn and completely adapt to like on the regular, but, um, even going back to when Q 39 opened, how important marketing was and what that looked like at the time. But I find this so fascinating of you being like a complete boss, babe <laugh>, like your background, literally. I mean, I want you to talk about that a little bit more because you come in with this wealth of experience and knowledge in the world of, you know, whatever, retail, consumerism, marketing, all of that, which clearly has paved the way for you to take this on. What did that feel for you at the time? And, you know, what did you feel at the time even, you know, coming from Hallmark? Did you leave Hallmark to then do
Kelly Magee (00:06:03):
The restaurant industry Eventually? I did, yes. Okay. So I've been in some sort of business cap development capacity my whole career. Yeah. Whatever I happen to be in. And, and I really enjoy taking ideas and concepts and making more of them. Yeah. So when, um, Rob said, okay, I'm kind of, I'm kind of done with some of my big goals. I'm ready to set my next big goal. Mm-hmm. He's like, I wanna open my own restaurant now. And I said, it's time. Let's do this.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:06:24):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:06:24):
But it was a great, uh, marriage of the two of our skill sets. Yeah. So he really understood the hospitality industry from his hotel background and the financials mm-hmm <affirmative>. And he had his competitive barbecue experience, I must say. I was a little, um, with business development background. He says, I'm going to open a barbecue restaurant in Kansas City. I thought,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:06:41):
That's not such a great idea because of how many there were. Exactly. That's what I was curious about. He very
Kelly Magee (00:06:46):
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Crowded marketplace. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:06:47):
And he said, but you
Kelly Magee (00:06:48):
Have so many other skills. And he's like, no, I'm gonna be innovative and I'm going to do that differently.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:06:53):
You can do it different. I'll do it better.
Kelly Magee (00:06:54):
Exactly. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. So I said, okay, we can, we can do that. Yeah. And so I wrote the business plan. He had like the, he had the, uh, tactile knowledge of how it would operate as a, as an operation. Yeah. But the business plan is more than that. It's, it's the financing, it's the marketing, it's, you know, the manpower who's gonna run this thing mm-hmm <affirmative>. So we put all that together and in 2013, and, um, when you sign on the dotted line, it's kind of scary. Here we go. Because it's pretty much your whole life.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:07:20):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:07:20):
And I remember him looking at me and saying, failure is not an option.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:07:24):
Yeah. Right. Yeah. Do you have any idea how many barbecue restaurants were even around at that time? We moved here 10 years ago, which isn't too far off. We moved here at the end of 2015. And I remember hearing at the time we had over a hundred barbecue restaurants. That's site's
Kelly Magee (00:07:38):
Probably. Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:07:38):
Dozens and dozens of them. What, how you eat all of them. You know, you,
Kelly Magee (00:07:40):
You can't. Yeah. I mean, unless you make that like a, a long hobby. Right. Um, and, but there are so many good ones and they each have their own flair and their own, the way they come at mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, delivering that kind of, the blending of art and science that is barbecue.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:07:55):
Yeah. Okay. So let's hit on that. What is the biggest differentiator for Q 39 from your perspective? Especially as time has gone on? I think everybody knows the, um, the experience there is incredible. You guys have had incredible success. Um, I told you that our family loves it when our, uh, family from outta
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town comes in, they always have a reservation, um, to eat there because they just love the food so much. So,
Kelly Magee (00:08:20):
Sure. Thank you so much for asking. So, um, we are chef driven because Rob was a chef. Yeah. Um, but we have, um, six classically trained chefs on our team today. So it's more than,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:08:30):
Is that more than normal?
Kelly Magee (00:08:32):
Yes. Okay. In most restaurants, we normally have three locations right now. Yeah. But we believe in the professionalism, the dedication to quality, and how to make an operation consistently fulfill. It's it's culinary purpose, like what they're supposed to deliver every day. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. So having that level of professionalism really matters. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. It also helps us have seasonal menus. So we change, you know, we have their foundational barbecue, but we change the salads and the appetizers and the desserts and the fun things around it. Yeah. And having the chef's knowledge on driving that experience is helpful. So that's one element. Um, the other element is our competition championship quality background. Okay. So all of the,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:09:08):
The munch and hogs, the
Kelly Magee (00:09:09):
Munch and hogs and beyond, I'm sure. Yes. So he spent, um, not a lot of people know this. He spent, um, six years in the top 10 teams in the world with the Kansas City Barbecue Society in the world. Yes. It's amazing. Well, it's a Kansas City Barbecue Society is a very big organization. So that's, that's kind of how we, they say that. So they have a team of year award and that's how, that's how that came about. And he, um, but all of the recipes, the techniques, the sauces and things that he developed, that's what we serve today. Still,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:09:40):
Still to this day, still
Kelly Magee (00:09:41):
Today.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:09:42):
I was gonna ask, when people, when you told people that you were opening the restaurant mm-hmm <affirmative>. What did people say? Just being in the capitol, you know, the barbecue capital, and then how were those early months or years for Q 39 on 39th Street?
Kelly Magee (00:09:54):
Sure. Well, so the couple things, I think a lot of people are like, good luck. You know, the, you know, Mindy Hargesheimer (00:09:59):
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I figured as much everybody
Kelly Magee (00:09:59):
Knows how hard the restaurant business is.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:10:01):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:10:02):
I gonna circle back to one of the things that he did that's pretty innovative, Uhhuh, and he kind of shared this with his friends. He took this, um, barbecue thing. 'cause it's, it takes a long time. If you run out of something, you know, it's a few hours before you're gonna have it again. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:10:14):
<laugh>.
Kelly Magee (00:10:14):
So I think the thing that he really perfected and shared with everyone was, I'm going to have that fresh, carved straight from the pit experience. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. No microwaves on the premise, so that when people come in, they're getting that experience. Kind of like the competition. Yeah. That was like I, what I serve my judges, the, when we would turn it in. Yeah. So that, you know, never anything other than that. So that was really kind of the big special thing. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:10:38):
And
Kelly Magee (00:10:38):
So I think that's, everybody's like, okay, we're in. But that's still hard to predict. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:10:41):
So
Kelly Magee (00:10:42):
He had to really fine tune, if we have this many reservations and it's a Monday, or it's a Saturday, how do we adjust how much we cook accordingly?
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:10:50):
Was the interest immediate with Q 39? What did that look like?
Kelly Magee (00:10:53):
Um, that is a great question. I think, yes. I have to say it was pretty, it it surprised me because yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:10:59):
When
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Kelly Magee (00:11:00):
People have their go-tos, particularly here, we all have our favorites. Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:04):
Or maybe something that just happens to be in your ne your neck of the woods, your neighborhood that you might go to. So
Kelly Magee (00:11:09):
Changing behavior's hard. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:10):
Um,
Kelly Magee (00:11:10):
People have, again, their go-to. So I, it was faster than I anticipated mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:14):
<affirmative>.
Kelly Magee (00:11:14):
So we paid off our business loan in less than 18 months. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:17):
Which
Kelly Magee (00:11:18):
Really shocked us. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:19):
So
Kelly Magee (00:11:19):
It was, it was, um, it was a relief. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:22):
And
Kelly Magee (00:11:22):
Then we started saying, well, maybe we should open another one <laugh>. So,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:26):
Which ended up being Overland Park.
Kelly Magee (00:11:27):
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Correct.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:28):
And how many years later did that come? That
Kelly Magee (00:11:30):
Was in 2017. So three years later.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:31):
So not many years later. Okay.
Kelly Magee (00:11:33):
Not many.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:33):
Yeah. Which is our go too. Obviously Q 39, the name came because of it being on 39th Street. Correct.
Kelly Magee (00:11:38):
Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:39):
I'm like, I'm not missing any obvious, there's no
Kelly Magee (00:11:41):
Big
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:42):
Secrets.
Kelly Magee (00:11:42):
It's, uh, Q is short for barbecue. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:44):
And
Kelly Magee (00:11:44):
39 short for 39th Street. We <laugh> naming naming was probably one of the hardest things, most
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:11:50):
Contentious decision I can imagine. I mean, I, you know, I only have my own Kansas City bucket list, you know, name, which has its own backstory. But Yeah. For a restaurant, I mean, I imagine that's a huge decision when you're trying to think about branding and it, um, you know, coming back to mind for people. But I think it's landed, obviously. Right. Well,
Kelly Magee (00:12:06):
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Thank you. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:12:06):
Thank you. It does
Kelly Magee (00:12:07):
Stick out. 'cause it's a little different. Yeah,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:12:09):
It does. Um, so let's talk about Rob. Sure. Do you feel like he just had like this superpower to learn a new skill? Like you said he was going to city to city and trying something new, and then he comes to Kansas City and he decides to throw himself into barbecue. Do you feel like he, I mean, obviously he was in the restaurant world, but not knowing anything about, um, you know, competitions with barbecue. Sure, sure. Is it something that he, you feel like he had like an, an innate ability to understand what people would love? Or
Kelly Magee (00:12:38):
How do perceive that? No, it would took him a few years to get it right. Honestly. Okay. Um, I think he knew how to cook from, from his culinary background. Of course. I think Rob's superpower was, he would set a ginormous goal and he'd put it out there mm-hmm <affirmative>. And he, he wouldn't quit until he made it. I mean, his dedication. And he was relentless. He be competitive
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:12:56):
Spirit a little
Kelly Magee (00:12:56):
Bit. I think so, yeah. And he, he, it just shocked me every time he would put out a big goal. Yeah. We had a few of them that we joke about, but Yeah. Um, and when he told me he was gonna be the best team in the barbecue circuit, I was like, okay,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:13:08):
Go for it. Yeah. Right. But
Kelly Magee (00:13:10):
It took him, um, four years until 2006 before he won his first large grand championship. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:13:15):
Just
Kelly Magee (00:13:15):
A single grand championship. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:13:17):
So
Kelly Magee (00:13:17):
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Four years. So it's, it's a, but again,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:13:20):
Dedication at its finest. Yes, yes. Yeah. But I mean, I'm, I'm sure he clearly had such a yearning to like perfect his craft.
Kelly Magee (00:13:27):
Absolutely.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:13:28):
You know, to some degree obviously has incredible legacy. Yeah. Was fun. It
Kelly Magee (00:13:31):
Was so fun. He loved doing it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:13:32):
Yeah. Yeah. How does it feel to be, are you one of the few female, um, women in leadership with Barbecue? The world of barbecue I around here? So what does that feel like? I think so.
Kelly Magee (00:13:42):
I'm not sure if there's, I don't think there's another fully female owned Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:13:46):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:13:46):
Uh, barbecue restaurant. So I never really thought about it very much for a while mm-hmm <affirmative>. And just the last couple years it's kind of kind of realized that, hey, that is a little different. Yeah. And, and it is unique.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:13:57):
Yeah. Going back to the awards. So those are, are they in, um, all of the restaurants I'm thinking of, of Overland Park right now? I'm like imagining a lot of the, the trophies and stuff. The trophies and everything. Are those in Midtown too? Yes. Okay. Yes.
Kelly Magee (00:14:09):
I think the biggest ones are in Midtown. Like the, you know, the team of the Year awards the best.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:14:13):
Best of
Kelly Magee (00:14:14):
The best. Yeah. Those are in Midtown right now.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:14:15):
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Okay.
Kelly Magee (00:14:16):
And, um, we had so many that we still have plenty to put in Lawrence, so we're
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:14:21):
Using Do you really? Yes. So we're still, I was, that's kind of where I was getting at. I'm like, how many are there out there? You know? So we're
Kelly Magee (00:14:26):
Still trying now to figure out, okay, do we wanna keep the same contest together at each location? Do we wanna spread them out? It's kinda a silly problem. Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:14:32):
But we're,
Kelly Magee (00:14:32):
We're looking at like, how do we do that? And then if we continue to grow, do we make duplicates of them and then put Original is located here
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:14:40):
Or something.
Kelly Magee (00:14:40):
Sure.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:14:41):
Yeah. Yeah. Well, I love that. That's perfect. To show the background. Do you guys still compete? Is that, I don't know, the world of barbecue or all that? Is that still a thing's a great question, or do the Munch and hogs still exist?
Kelly Magee (00:14:51):
Uh, no, the team does not exist anymore. Okay. No, we don't compete. He did compete, um, at the Royal in 2014 after we had opened. Okay. And he said, my heart's just not here anymore. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. My heart's back at that restaurant. But we do support, um, Kansas City Barbecue Society. So we, um, we full on, um, when they have their judges class, so you can become a certified judge to go to these contests. Ah. And every contest has to have so many certified judges at it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:15:15):
Makes sense.
Kelly Magee (00:15:17):
So we provide the meat, so we show up and we cook and provide the meat for the judges to judge. Mindy Hargesheimer (00:15:22):
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Okay. Got it. I love it. Okay, so let's get into Lawrence. Yes.
Kelly Magee (00:15:26):
The
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:15:26):
Expansion into Lawrence. How exciting is that? How long has that been in the works? Where is it gonna be? What are you guys gonna do? And then let's also talk about what FIFA's gonna look like for you guys. My gosh. And if you have any plans on the works, <laugh>, because FIFA is making its way weaving into every conversation. And I would love to know what you guys are expecting for that too. Absolutely.
Kelly Magee (00:15:42):
Absolutely. So, gosh, uh, Lawrence, um, I believe it was in the idea was first kind of, um, pitched to me from the a property developer, like in 2000, excuse me, 2022 to 23. And I think I committed, um, in 23 and closed on the property. I am, everything's kind of fuzzy. I think
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:16:02):
23, 24
Kelly Magee (00:16:04):
Ish, couple years in the close. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, when the developer decided they were not going to move forward with that property, I said, Hmm, I still want to mm-hmm <affirmative>. I still want this could really work. Yeah. I felt there was a gap, um, of a place that size for people to gather mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, in downtown Lawrence mm-hmm <affirmative>. And so I thought, let's try this and let's bring something that already has a brand that'll at least draw. So we're not on Mass Street, but we're just off of Mass Street. And you can, you can walk down from mass right. To one of our doors
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:16:36):
Too. Are you east of Mass Street? Correct. On
Kelly Magee (00:16:38):
New Hampshire.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:16:39):
There's a lot of expansion. We're both KU grads. Yeah. Um, there's been a lot of expansion east of mastery. Right. It's amazing. So that's like a prime place to be.
Kelly Magee (00:16:46):
Yes. It's amazing. Um, lots of folks are doing some terrific things there from hotels, most especially. Yeah. And there's a, a Oregon Reuters building that's being redeveloped and all of that. So, um, we just made the commitment and bought the property and said, let's do this. Yeah. And so it's, it's been a year and a half. Um, we kind of slowed down for a little bit trying to decide where we're gonna, um, put all our eggs mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, because Lee Summit was also, um, coming up. Yeah. And Lee Summit, Rob actually had picked out that location. Okay. So before he even, so that's
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:17:18):
Been in the
Kelly Magee (00:17:18):
Works. Yeah. Yes. Yes. So, but Lawrence, um, it's, it's getting close. We, we had to, uh, work with the city on the architecture because it isn't a historic area. The front of it's pretty modern, but inside it feels like it's been there for a while. Okay. So that's kind of what we were trying to, trying to do. It's hard 'cause you wanna blend in and I understand cities and community and the planning you wanna blend in and be, um, you know, I think it's called contextual architecture, where it, it fits the area, but at the same time, you need to be able to stand out so people can see you. So
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:17:48):
Yeah, no doubt you have your style, your brand and everything that you'd wanna adhere to as well. Yeah. So
Kelly Magee (00:17:54):
It's a fine line.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:17:54):
Yeah. Was Lawrence tugging at your heartstrings? Because you're a KU grad, was Lawrence coming to you calling for Q 39 to come to Lawrence? How does that play out? Definitely
Kelly Magee (00:18:05):
Tugging at my heartstrings. Yeah. But not just because of being a KU grad. So, um, my parents, uh, were born and raised in small towns in Kansas.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:18:12):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:18:13):
They met at the University of Kansas and they're both J Hawks. Yep. And so it was, um, when I went to ku I really enjoyed spending time on Mass Street, and I really enjoyed the community. So being down there and locally owned almost mom and pop shops that, you know, it, I just really appreciated that vibe. Yes. So much. So I even went down the path of, so my little entrepreneur spirit was kind of alive and well even then. Yeah. And I, there was, um, some girls who were graduating, they had a little popcorn gift shop. Snack shop. Okay. And it was just east, ironically of mass, but you could right next to it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:18:50):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:18:51):
And I thought, Hey, maybe I could buy this from them and run it. And that sounds so fun. And I
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:18:55):
Was back in the day, this is what you were thinking? Yes, yes. Okay.
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Kelly Magee (00:18:57):
And my dad was like, whoa,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:18:59):
Whoa. Slow down. That's
Kelly Magee (00:19:00):
Aggressive.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:00):
<laugh>.
Kelly Magee (00:19:00):
Yes. Yes. He said, let's, let's, let's look at the numbers, let's look at this. Yeah. And, and he really was very, um, he didn't tell me no. Yeah. But he was like, let's really think about this if this is the right choice for you at this time. Yeah. And he was right. It wasn't, but I just, it was like, I just had that pull
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:15):
You. Yeah. It's, I just love that area. It's been innate in you Yes. To be doing something and it's kind of a full circle moment. It
Kelly Magee (00:19:20):
Is. Especially since, um, I was a server at Buffalo Bob Smokehouse back in the day. Okay. In the 1980s.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:27):
Another Yes. Sign that it was meant to be a near future.
Kelly Magee (00:19:29):
Right. My first barbecue job, <laugh>.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:31):
Yeah. I love it. In
Kelly Magee (00:19:32):
Hospitality job. And it did, it came, came full circle. What
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:36):
Did your parents do?
Kelly Magee (00:19:37):
Um, so my mom, she actually was, my, my father was a retired military, uh, officer in the Navy.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:43):
Okay.
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Kelly Magee (00:19:44):
And so my mom ended up kind of taking different jobs as administrative assistants, executive assistants, wherever we happened to live. She was great at organizing. Okay. And, and kind of keeping things on the rails.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:53):
Yeah. But you didn't move around from your father's job or
Kelly Magee (00:19:57):
I did
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:58):
When I was
Kelly Magee (00:19:58):
Little. Oh,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:19:59):
You did? Okay. When we were little,
Kelly Magee (00:19:59):
Yes. Lived all over the country, including Alaska and Hawaii and Washington DC we
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:04):
Oh my gosh. So you have a whole other background that we could get into <laugh>.
Kelly Magee (00:20:07):
Yes. A little bit. Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:08):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:20:08):
But I think that, that, um, when we moved back to Kansas City, I think my dad intentionally said, I want my family to feel like they're from Kansas. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:16):
And so that's
Kelly Magee (00:20:17):
Why he, he brought us here.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:18):
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I love it. Okay. So let's go back to the restaurant. I had a question really more for myself. Um, I wanted to know what exactly does chef driven mean and open scratch? Obviously I know what they mean. Um, but I wanted to get into it 'cause I feel like I read those terms a lot and I just wanted to be educated a bit more on like, what is chef driven at Q 39 versus another restaurant that doesn't have a chef driven philosophy or
kitchen?
Kelly Magee (00:20:42):
Right. Right. Well, I think first of all, they have to have the training and the professional background. Um, okay. In school, there's, there's an associate's degree that's a differentiator in culinary mm-hmm <affirmative>. And people can go on to four year degrees in hospitality as well. Um, that Okay. That manage customer service based the front of the house or hospitality Yeah. From a hotel base.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:20:58):
Okay. But,
Kelly Magee (00:20:59):
But, um, it's that culinary classic training is, is is the, the proper term for that. But, um, more importantly, it is the approach and philosophy that there are so many that we make everything onsite at our restaurants. So we don't open cans of beans, we don't buy potato salad, we buy potatoes. So that's kind of our Got it. Our thing we say right now. Yes. So there's so many things in the food industry now, and we have big companies and Cisco's one of our, is our food. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Partner with us, but they offer so many things that are really good, that are kind of readymade that restaurants, busy, restaurants that don't have that capacity or big enough kitchen or Yeah. The team to produce all of that. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. You can get some really good stuff, but we've chosen nope, we're going to stay unique. Stay ourselves. Yeah. And we're going to our flavors profiles for each of our things are slightly unique.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:21:46):
Okay. Got it. You mentioned too that, um, you have seasonal menus.
Kelly Magee (00:21:52):
Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:21:52):
How often do you change the menus and how does your team go about figuring out what to keep, what to remove, what to add? What does that look like? Right.
Kelly Magee (00:22:00):
That's a great question. Seems like it'd be lots of fun, but it can be kind.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:03):
It does seem like it would be a lot of fun, <laugh>. Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:22:04):
But it can be kind of stressful.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:06):
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I bet.
Kelly Magee (00:22:06):
Um, so we change it twice a year, and that is, again, part of the chef driven component is being able to change that menu and bring in new ideas, new flavors, and evaluate what's working and what would work well with what we already do. Well, so we maintain the foundational barbecue element mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, we switch up things seasonally. So like poutine is really a winter dish. And Yes, we have people who ask for it. Is your in July? I know <laugh>. I know
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:22:31):
It does go away, so that's, yes. Okay.
Kelly Magee (00:22:33):
So we take it off in the summer and we bring on our nachos, which are also really, really amazing. Yeah. Can't go wrong with that. We, we just kind of, it, it's a similar kind of a shareable dish. Yeah. And so we just kind of flip it out, um, just again to keep things fresh. Yeah. Um, but the salads, they can have more of a winter flare to them or a little, you know, with the vegetables that we put with them or the way we dress it, or maybe peanut butter summer, maybe butter squash or Exactly. Something like that. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And so we just, um, bringing that in and it's, it's fun and it keeps, um, we're always exploring new flavors and there's always new ways you can combine barbecue with some of these other foods.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:06):
Do you guys get tempted to fall into trying something completely like outlandish? Or does that get a little too risky to beer from <laugh>? Well,
Kelly Magee (00:23:14):
It depends what you mean by outlandish. So some of the things we've done, um, that, and Rob brought some of this stuff in, we did, um, um, they're like, they look like cake pops on a stick, but they were, um, like corn dogs is what we
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:26):
Call 'em. Oh, okay.
Kelly Magee (00:23:27):
But we had brisket, or they're burnt ends, uhhuh
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:30):
And
Kelly Magee (00:23:31):
Sausage, and they were on, and we battered them uhhuh
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:34):
In
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Kelly Magee (00:23:34):
House and fried them and served them and we served it. They were so delicious.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:38):
I did not try these, are they gonna come back? So these
Kelly Magee (00:23:40):
Are way back, I don't know.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:41):
We'll just have
Kelly Magee (00:23:41):
To see.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:42):
You'll have to text me if they do so I can come in <laugh>.
Kelly Magee (00:23:44):
You bet. They're, they're one of my favorite like unique things.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:47):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:23:47):
Um, chef Pat, who's with us now, he took, um, bread pudding is a big thing in restaurant desserts right now. It seems to be really rising in popularity. It's very comforting.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:23:55):
I think. I love bread pudding. So tell me more.
Kelly Magee (00:23:57):
So we do one that looks like burnt ends. So we take bread pudding bites
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:02):
And
Kelly Magee (00:24:02):
We deep fry them and they, we serve them in a dish with a, a caramel sauce drizzle on top of it. And it,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:08):
I did see a video or a picture of these and oh my gosh, I've got, again,
Kelly Magee (00:24:11):
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They're delicious
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:11):
To have that.
Kelly Magee (00:24:12):
To me it tastes like, um, almost like, you know, the kids have the french toast sticks.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:15):
Oh yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:24:16):
These are just even better.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:24:17):
Okay. So on that point, we, let's talk about kids, right? Yes. Because I wanna talk about the people that come to the restaurant. So, um, I had mentioned to you when I was doing my homework to have you in, was so excited to have Q 39 in and to have you, um, here at the helm to talk about it and the story behind it. And when I was researching it, um, our daughters are eight and 11 and they came into my office and I was like, guess who I'm researching for the podcast tomorrow? And they said, who? And I said, um, Kelly, she is the co-founder at Q 39. And they were like, what? You know, it was just like a media drooling. Um, but I wanna talk about how do you guys approach that? Because I think you had said before we started recording that there is this whole, you know, I think behavior where kids can drive where the decision is to eat out.
(00:25:01):
Sure. And I'm sure you guys are, you see so many families come in. Like, what does that make you feel? Like? What does that look like for kids? How do you guys think about that? Because by the way, that mac and cheese that you also have, which we order every single time, and our girls get it with brisket. I remember going to the Overland Park location one time, and I'm so obsessed with the mac and cheese. I was asking one of the servers and he didn't give away the probably whatever the secret recipe is, <laugh>. But I remember him saying something like, there were like seven cheeses that went into it. And I was like,
Kelly Magee (00:25:28):
What <laugh>? Well, there's four <laugh>. Okay. Not quite that many, but yeah, we grade the cheese, melt it down. Yeah. And we make the sauce and then we cook the pasta and it's a little al Dante. And then we, we finish it off and put the sauce with it so we bring it together
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:25:42):
Yeah. And
Kelly Magee (00:25:43):
Serve it. So that's, it makes it really fresh and delicious.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:25:46):
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And it lands every single time. Like every time we get it, it's just like creamy and the best. So I think you guys hands down have one of the best mac and cheese Thank you dishes and inside. Thank you. Yeah,
Kelly Magee (00:25:54):
Definitely one of my favorites.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:25:55):
Yeah. Yeah. So with kids, do you, yeah. Do you feel that way where you have a lot of kids that just kind of crave the Q 39 experience based on what you see or hear? It,
Kelly Magee (00:26:03):
It surprised me. So, um, our, our kids were still at home when we opened. Yeah. And, um, some of our friends would bring their kids in and then didn't realize they wanted to keep coming in. Ah. And it, you know, when you do your, your business plan, you're doing your market segmentation and demographics
and mm-hmm <affirmative>. Didn't even think about it. Did not even think about it, didn't crush your mind. Yeah. And then, um, we have, we have friends. Yeah. My, my son when he, it's his birthday, he wants to go to Q3 nine every time. Yeah. So we love that. It's a, it's an approachable food. Yeah. You
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:26:31):
Can
Kelly Magee (00:26:31):
Have really good food that's chef driven, that's still approachable and enjoyable even by youngsters
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:26:36):
And not at a price point that's like crazy. Right. Expensive to have a chef driven experience for children that are, you know, under the age of 10, 10 or 12. So, um, I had read that you also have many people come in internationally. Is that right?
Kelly Magee (00:26:49):
Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:26:49):
So that's a, and let's talk about FIFA and if you guys are doing something to maybe, I mean, people are obviously gonna come into Q 39, you're gonna be one of the first places that they're gonna, you know, find to come while they're here. But how, how do you feel about that?
Kelly Magee (00:27:03):
Well, uh, I think the travel segment was another demographic that we just didn't even consider when we were making, putting our plans together. And it has, um, sometimes it's more than half of our customers are from out of town. Wow. So it has really blown us away how that has, we've almost, um, eased into the attraction world as opposed to a
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:27:23):
Restaurant. Yeah.
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Kelly Magee (00:27:23):
Because barbecue in Kansas City is, is on everybody's top thing to do when they come. Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:27:27):
Mm-hmm <affirmative>.
Kelly Magee (00:27:28):
So, um, we started planning, honestly, um, having talks last August, uh, like how, how are we gonna manage that? So mm-hmm <affirmative>. If you Google barbecue restaurant Kansas City and we're arguing the top five, I'd say top three or more mm-hmm <affirmative>. Spots, um, how are we gonna handle the business? How are we gonna handle the traffic? Being a full service restaurant, you can't just push 'em through. Right. And a lot of these, um, international travelers, they like to sit a little bit longer. So we were trying to plan, Hey, do we need to message up front on a reservation that this is how long it is? Without, again, without seeming which is how on hospital. What would you say by that? Well, I would say for a group of four, it's probably an hour to hour, 15 minutes. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah. But that's what we're used to. They're probably used to two hours mm-hmm <affirmative>. So, um, it's just how do we guide that, that experience for them without them feeling rushed.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:19):
Such an interesting point. I hadn't thought about that. Yeah. What do you plan on doing <laugh>? You're like, we're figuring that out.
Kelly Magee (00:28:25):
We are. And I think it's, it's, it's, uh, teaching our team to again, be kind about it and, and set the expectation up front. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, we will probably be super busy, so it won't be a surprise to them that there's a line of people trying to come in. Yeah. We're, we've rented, um, tents to put outside, um Oh, that's smart in, in some secure areas so that people can, um, wait Yeah. And have enjoy beverage and appetizer perhaps. And then that way it's again, helping the experience just be more comfortable.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:28:56):
Yeah. So this might be a dumb question, but how do you know that half of your patrons are from outta town? Is that like a zip code thing or,
Kelly Magee (00:29:04):
Um, a little bit. There's so many cool data
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:29:06):
Around the world. Like I haven't worked on that rapidly side of anything. So there
Kelly Magee (00:29:09):
Are, um, different services out there that can kind of, um, they have tracking mechanisms and it's, and when you have something always on and it's a little big brotherish, you know, kind of scary
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:29:20):
To some degree sometimes. Yeah, I bet.
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Kelly Magee (00:29:22):
But there it's more in a big data sense. It's not you specifically. Yeah. We're just getting trends and so we've asked like how many people are, are here on an annual basis that are from more than a hundred miles away. Got it. And that's where those percentages start jumping up. Okay. And I think it's from people though also, like you mentioned, you're out of town, family mm-hmm <affirmative>. So it's often our local loyal customers than bringing Sure. Bringing people into
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:29:44):
That makes complete sense. Um, is Kansas City actually known as the barbecue capital or is that just something that we say? Is that like what, what is the sentiment with that?
Kelly Magee (00:29:56):
Sure. That those are fight words for a lot of people, right? I know. So, uh, I think Texas thinks they're the barbecue state. Oh, state. Okay. Yeah. And we'll let them have that, but we're the barbecue capital of the world. And I, I'll, I have a few reasons for that. Uh, we are where Kansas City Barbecue Society started, they started back in 1985. They are worldwide organization. They have over 14,000 members and they host, uh, 3000 or sanction 3000, excuse me, 300 contests a year around the world. Oh my gosh. So we also, um, have the World Museum of Barbecue.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:30:29):
Yes.
Kelly Magee (00:30:29):
That's, yes. I've been over at Crown Center Yes. With Jonathan and Alex Uhhuh. Yes. Yeah. Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:30:34):
And he made it onto like, what was it? It was like a US news and world or a travel leisure, something like that. Yes. It's one of the top 10 places to visit. Right. So
Kelly Magee (00:30:43):
It's really cool and it's very, very informative if, if you come and you have no idea. So a lot of people think barbecuing is on my Weber grill out back. No, that's grilling. It's, we
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:30:52):
Simply grilling.
Kelly Magee (00:30:53):
We have a very distinct thing here. And so the smoking of the meats and what that really is, it's a great place to go because you get a very good education. It's about the f the woods and the different, um, smokers you can use and the different kinds of meats and then the different sauces and then like the
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:06):
Four
Kelly Magee (00:31:07):
Key areas that have been the incubators for what is barbecue today. Yeah.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:12):
Gotcha. Okay. So going back to the food. So how many different types of meats are your chefs working with that we can get a Q 39. Oh boy,
Kelly Magee (00:31:22):
I hope I can remember them all.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:23):
Okay.
Kelly Magee (00:31:23):
So there are four primary meats. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:25):
That,
Kelly Magee (00:31:26):
Um, in the master series, um, on the barbecue circuit you have to serve brisket. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:30):
Pulled
Kelly Magee (00:31:31):
Pork mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:32):
<affirmative>.
Kelly Magee (00:31:32):
Ribs and chicken. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:33):
Those
Kelly Magee (00:31:34):
Are the foundational ones.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:35):
Got it.
Kelly Magee (00:31:35):
But you can smoke anything. So we do a house made Chipotle sausage that we smoke. We do, um, pork belly, we actually do, um, shrimp on the grill. We don't smoke that, but it's bacon wrapped in grilled.
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Okay. So we also have a wood fired grill mm-hmm <affirmative>. Which adds so much flavor to things. It, it just adds, we do our own house made burgers. Okay. And we put those on the grill. So it's,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:31:59):
It's, is it like a brisket burger or is that something different? It's, it's, it's part
Kelly Magee (00:32:02):
Brisket and, oh, Lord, I I wanna say sirloin, but, um, my shuffle, correct me if I'm wrong.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:32:07):
Sure. Yeah. But
Kelly Magee (00:32:07):
It's a mix.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:32:08):
Big fact check.
Kelly Magee (00:32:08):
Yes. No, but it totally mixes that together and creates this and we make that fresh inhouse. So it's, it's also so delicious
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:32:15):
Back to everything that, that differentiator that you have.
Kelly Magee (00:32:17):
Yes, yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:32:18):
When did Burnt Ends become a thing for, is that a Kansas City thing? It's
Kelly Magee (00:32:23):
A Kansas City thing. Um, I need to, I think, um, Arthur Bryants and Gates really kind of made that a thing and, um, they would put it up on like the scraps after they slice the brisket. Yeah. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And that's how, and they're a little bit fattier that it's the it's the point on a brisket. Yep. And so it can get a little char to it. So I think that's kind of what they are literally burnt, like people coming in and think That doesn't sound great. Yeah. Even a funny, this is such a funny little thing, but, um, in a lot of the AI and the reviews, if you use the word burnt, they think it's a negative connotation. Oh yeah. So when we're getting reviews, you're like, oh, you had a negative thing this many times. You're like, it's just the word burnt ends <laugh>.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:32:59):
No, this is getting completely misconstrued. Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:33:01):
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Isn't that funny that, that it just, it made that the negative, but it's not. Yeah. So I think that they did that. So we take the point and we, once the whole brisket is smoked together, both the point and the flat. Yeah. Um, we finish it off on the, on the grill and then we cube it and serve it. Yeah. So it's, it's pretty delicious.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:33:18):
Well, and back to everything being, um, you know, what did you call it, pit to plate?
Kelly Magee (00:33:23):
Correct.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:33:24):
Okay. Got it. Right. Um, so we love burnt ends and we get them when we go, but I, I know, um, even at times we have to ask like, oh, could we get kind of a starter plate of the burnt ends? And it depends, right? Yes. Yes. If they're available.
Kelly Magee (00:33:37):
Well, they're
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:33:38):
Very
Kelly Magee (00:33:39):
High in
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:33:39):
Demand, which speaks to the point. Oh, I know. Yes. Well,
Kelly Magee (00:33:41):
And there's only so much we have. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:33:42):
So
Kelly Magee (00:33:43):
You can only smoke, you know, we about 80 briskets a day and we use burnt ends. Um, the premier experience is to have the brisket plate, which you get the sliced flat, and then you get the cube burn ends. Okay. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And that really is the best, I think, brisket beef experience. Yep. Um, so that's the most important. Then one of our signature sandwiches is the, uh, Mr. Burns. And it is, um, Mr. Slice burns burn ends. Yeah. And it has a little bit of, uh, Chipotle sauce on it and a pepper jack cheese, so it has a little heat to it. So Good. Hence the name. Yeah. And it, it came about as kind of a, an the server started selling it and then we just put it on the menu because everyone
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:34:22):
Loved one of those things that was kind of accidental or Yes. See how it goes. Yes. Yeah. Um, and then when it comes to the sauces, what, how many sauces do you guys have? What sure. Is different about the key 39 sauces that compliment what you guys are doing?
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Kelly Magee (00:34:35):
Absolutely. So, um, there's a whole story behind the sauces. Okay. So, um, when Rob was in the competition circuit, I told you it took him four years. It was 2006 before, yeah. 2007 he really started winning and that's when he dialed in his sauce. Okay. And we called it the oh seven Sauce for because of 2007. Yeah. Forever. And it, that was the first year he also went to the Jack Daniels World Invitational. And their little brand thing is old number seven. Like there's a lot of Oh, right. So on the bottle. So we, we, we lovingly have called it that forever mm-hmm <affirmative>. But we felt that was a little hard to explain. So we just called it the classic sauce. Yeah. And that's our classic sauce that we still use today.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:12):
Okay.
Kelly Magee (00:35:13):
Uh, the zesty sauce has a little bit of vinegar base, so it has a little more pop and tang to it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:17):
Okay.
Kelly Magee (00:35:18):
And, uh, that won an American Royal best Sauce, vinegar based sauce award, first place. Love it. And then we took a honey glaze. Um, it's a little bit of a, similar to the classic, but it has a much more honey base to it, a little sweeter. And it goes on our ribs and a few other dishes. So we don't use it as much. And then the Chipotle is our classic sauce, but we add, um, some Chipotle to it and give it a kick.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:42):
I love Chipotle. Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:35:43):
So
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:44):
Those
Kelly Magee (00:35:44):
Are, those are our three four.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:45):
Yeah. What do you eat when you go to Q 39? That's a
Kelly Magee (00:35:49):
Good
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:49):
Question. And how often are you eating at Q 39 as the CEO? Well,
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Kelly Magee (00:35:53):
Three or four times a week. Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:55):
I bet times Lucky you.
Kelly Magee (00:35:56):
Easily.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:35:56):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:35:57):
So, um, any of my team members would say, oh, she gets the pork belly tacos, and I do every time movie. Oh,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:02):
Are those always on the menu? They're always
Kelly Magee (00:36:04):
On the
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:04):
Menu. We, because I had tacos there one time I remember, I feel like they went away for a short period of time. 'cause I was like, where are the tacos? I love tacos, so, yeah. Okay. Good to know. So we
Kelly Magee (00:36:12):
Used, we used Joli tortillas and the shout out to shout out Uhhuh <affirmative>. Yes. Yeah. And, um, they're delicious. We, we use a flower, uh, corn combination Sonoran style. Yeah. And, um, they're just delicious. And so then we take that pork belly and it's, it's seared on the grill a little bit with that. And it, we have a jalapeno coleslaw and a barbecue aioli that's put with it, and it is Oh my gosh. And you get two of those. And I like it because then I'm not food comma feeling Yeah. Before I eat. I bet. Because it's so easy to
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:38):
Enjoy
Kelly Magee (00:36:38):
The food. Like I love the mac and cheese, but then I need a nap after
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:41):
<laugh>. I know. It is. It's like, it's very, it's very heavy, but you are so satisfied after eating it too. <laugh>. Right.
Kelly Magee (00:36:47):
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So, yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:36:48):
The
Kelly Magee (00:36:48):
Mac and cheese, I have a funny story too, but it was just a side dish. Yeah. For a long time. It wasn't like treated as an entree. And so I would order it and I would order just some meat with it. That was like my thing for the longest time. And finally it was like, Hey, why don't we just put that on the menu?
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:03):
So, so that was the inspiration, that's the, the origin Yes. Of that coming on. Yes. Yeah. Well, it's brilliant. It's so good. Um, you also have a very popular cocktail we should talk about, right? Smoked old fashion. Yes. Yes. That's So how did you smoked Right. To pull that through?
Kelly Magee (00:37:18):
So, um, we smoked the honey that's, that's used
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:20):
To
Kelly Magee (00:37:21):
Flavor that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:21):
Oh, okay. So it's
Kelly Magee (00:37:22):
Called a smoked honey, old fashion.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:23):
Smoked honey, old fashion. Okay. Got it. And that
Kelly Magee (00:37:25):
Was one of Rob's favorite drinks.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:26):
And so
Kelly Magee (00:37:27):
It's, it is probably our, one of our, our signature cocktail. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:30):
Uh,
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Kelly Magee (00:37:30):
So that everybody,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:31):
My husband gets it all the time.
Kelly Magee (00:37:32):
And I'm not even a big, um, bourbon whiskey mm-hmm <affirmative>. Uh, fan. And I like it. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:38):
I enjoy
Kelly Magee (00:37:38):
It.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:38):
Yeah. It's a good one. What other cocktails do you guys are pretty popular or drinks? I would imagine a lot of people too love to come in and have like barbecue and beer too. It's probably a huge experience. Well,
Kelly Magee (00:37:48):
That's, that's the most common thing.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:49):
I think
Kelly Magee (00:37:49):
It's just that that goes in our, in our brains.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:37:52):
That's
Kelly Magee (00:37:52):
What we think. Um, we have several cocktails. Um, one that's, that's I think's great, especially as we're coming up into the spring, is that we have a peach tea cocktail. Ooh.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:00):
Which
Kelly Magee (00:38:01):
Is pretty yummy. Yep.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:02):
We
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Kelly Magee (00:38:02):
Have, um, we have the basal lemonade kind of a thing, and it is delicious.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:08):
More of like the refresher kind of cocktail. Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:38:12):
So, and again, we just changed a bunch of them and so we are continuously that, that's part of it as well.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:17):
Yeah. Okay. So let's talk about Rob.
Kelly Magee (00:38:19):
Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:20):
So he passed away in, what year was it?
Kelly Magee (00:38:23):
2021.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:38:24):
And he had a five year battle with colon cancer. Colorectal colon cancer. Yes. Cancer. Yes. Yeah. Can you talk a little about, a little bit about him and his legacy Absolutely. And what you guys have been doing to honor his legacy. I know you guys are super philanthropic, but I wanna hear, you know, everything you wanna say about him and what he built for Casey with you by his side.
Kelly Magee (00:38:43):
Yes. Thank you for asking. Um, of course. So he was a larger than life personality and, um, so he was diagnosed in 2016 before we even opened Overland Park. Okay.
(00:38:54):
And our, our first, my first thought was, oh, we've got this. I mean, I remember Katie Kirk's husband having this, and he passed, but we've learned so much since then. Yeah. You know, no big deal. We've got this. Yeah. Little did I know that it was late stage three and that the survival rates for that are like less than 10%, so Right. About 10%. And it was just, I didn't know that at the time. Yeah. And the doctors didn't really share a lot of that. And Rob's personality kind of was a driving force in his treatment and his outlook on how he Yeah. Managed and, and navigated all of his treatments. And so, um, he lived, he full on still and made sure, and he's like, you know, I'm not gonna let this di dictate
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:39:33):
The
Kelly Magee (00:39:33):
Trajectory of my life.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:39:34):
That doesn't surprise me based on what you've told me about his drive and
Kelly Magee (00:39:36):
Character. Right. So he said, let's keep going. So he finished his first round of treatments and we opened Overland Park. Okay. And, um, we just, it was full steam ahead for a long time mm-hmm <affirmative>. And so then when he did pass, I think a lot of people were surprised because I really had just been, I did a lot at the, at the restaurant. Yeah. And I mean, I've done most jobs at the restaurant too. You know, when
you're opening up, you roll up your sleeves. I've been, yeah, good for you. Dishwasher. I've been on the line doing pantry. I've done, you know, serving and hosting I love and all of that. That's f fantastic to hear catering. I've all of it. Um, but I was around constantly doing, um, helping with payroll and accounts payable, HR and the marketing and all the technology. So I was the administration part of the business that really helped him stay focused on the operation. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:40:22):
So
Kelly Magee (00:40:22):
I think a lot of people were, didn't realize that when he passed, they were like, oh, well what's Kelly going to do? And I, he rob also, we worked so hard and um, that he was like, I don't want you to have to work hard anymore. So he positioned an exit strategy for me, and when it came time to make that decision, I just, I couldn't do it. Yeah. It just didn't feel right. And
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:40:45):
You were too connected, too passionate about
Kelly Magee (00:40:48):
The brands. Yeah, exactly. Like I, his passion wasn't just his, I was passionate about the business as well. And I especially passionate about our team and everybody because it is a big business and it takes everyone to make that succeed. And we have people today who've been with him for, like, with Rob for over 20 years. Oh
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:07):
My gosh. And
Kelly Magee (00:41:07):
Working and on barbecue teams with him and stuff that are still with us. And I just, I couldn't imagine handing that off to somebody else and walking away. It was just, just felt wrong. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:16):
So,
Kelly Magee (00:41:17):
And I had the energy and I was like, you know, I'll kind of get myself together. And, um, and it was, it, it, it reenergized me.
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:25):
I was gonna say, how has it been, I mean, I'm sure you look back now a few years ago, like, and you've evolved probably, um, since then in whatever ways. But yeah. What did that feel like at first? Was it daunting or did it feel very natural? It is
Kelly Magee (00:41:36):
Daunting. Well, it was, it is a little daunting at first because he very much was the face of Q 39. Sure. And so it felt a little hard stepping into that role. It felt like it wasn't quite mine to do that. Yeah. So I had to get kind of over, over that and Yeah. And be willing to, um, continue again, his passion share that we're not doing anything different, we're just going to double
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:56):
Down
Kelly Magee (00:41:57):
And keep doing this.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:41:58):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:41:58):
So there was that. I think, um, the idea for me, I had some strong thoughts that I don't wanna be just the best restaurant, which Rob put that out there, by the way. He was like,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:07):
I wanna be
Kelly Magee (00:42:07):
The best restaurant in Kansas City. Just
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:09):
The best
Kelly Magee (00:42:10):
One overall,
(00:42:11):
One of those goals. Right. <laugh>. And, um, I said, I wanna be the best restaurant to work for. Okay. So, to me, investment in our, our team and our people, and we try to continuously provide things that are meaningful for them and supportive for them. Um, our COO that we have now, he has a fantastic saying. Um, he said, and I, I, we believe this wholeheartedly is, um, the experience of our guests will not exceed that of our own team members. Oh, that's amazing. So I think that that really crystallizes that vision. Yeah. So the other part was, I wanna get back to the community. So we are already involved in some things mm-hmm <affirmative>. But really, um, supporting our community that has did so much to support us. Right. So found ways to do that. And then again, honoring him and combining that community thing is what's coming up right now. March's, national
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:42:58):
Colon
Kelly Magee (00:42:59):
Cancer Awareness Month.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:43:00):
Yeah. Um, my circle of family and friends, we too have lost several people to colon cancer. Oh, I'm
Kelly Magee (00:43:06):
Sorry.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:43:07):
At a very young age, like thirties, which is crazy. And so, um, and actually I've got somebody coming into the podcast in a few weeks, um, that's gonna talk about his experience with colon cancer. And as we all know, I think anyone who's maybe been touched by it, it has exponentially grown. And how many people are being diagnosed and, um, you know, I'm not sure everything that they found, in fact, I really wanna get on an oncologist. I wanna have more, whether it's KU Med, I wanna have, um, professionals come on and talk about, you know, just the different things going on with cancers and obviously breast cancer, um, all kinds of things. I want people to talk about what they're learning and what we can be doing. Sure. You know, to kind of like take, take care of ourselves
Kelly Magee (00:43:44):
Completely.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:43:45):
Um, what were some of the symptoms that he had, I guess maybe for others to be aware of? Um,
Kelly Magee (00:43:50):
Well, I think it's scary. And I, I'm gonna touch on a couple things. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:43:54):
It
Kelly Magee (00:43:54):
Is growing in younger population. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:43:56):
So
Kelly Magee (00:43:56):
It is the number one leading cause for men under 50 of cancer deaths. So
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:00):
Scary
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Kelly Magee (00:44:01):
And sad. So it is the number two leading cause of cancer deaths all, you know, anywhere of any of mm hmm. Of any, any population. Um, and it is rapidly increasing. So, um, the recommended screening age now is 45. Yeah. And, um, but it can happen without any symptoms. So the, the most important thing is if you're having anything, I think there's, um, blood in the stool. There's all these things that it's like, not fun to talk about.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:25):
Not fun to talk about. But I do want this to be a very open conversation for people to learn from. Well,
Kelly Magee (00:44:30):
It's it
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:30):
And how to get connected with people here too. So
Kelly Magee (00:44:32):
It's the number two leading cause of cancer death and nobody's talking about it.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:44:34):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:44:35):
It's, that's not helpful. Right, right, right. So I think there's lots of symptoms. There's lots of helpful sites out there. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, colon cancer, um, coalition is who um, we partner with here in Kansas City. They are a national organization. They have, and they do a lot for, um, screening and getting access and um, also a lot of re they partner with a lot of research folks. Okay. Um, I, I think it's super important, um, that if people have any, like a lot of times young people, it's like, I irritable IBS, irritable bowel syndrome. They think it's something else.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:45:05):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:45:05):
That may be true. Mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:45:07):
<affirmative>. But
Kelly Magee (00:45:08):
Get screened just in case.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:45:09):
Absolutely. Um,
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Kelly Magee (00:45:10):
Well,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:45:10):
My husband, he actually started getting screened for it. I think. I'm pretty sure. Um, maybe like in his thirties because of something on his family side.
Kelly Magee (00:45:18):
I can't even track it all. If you have family history, it just, that alone can be a reason to start getting screened. Yep. Yeah. Um, so it, it highly encouraged that because of caught early, you have a 90% chance of survival rate. Yeah. Yeah. It, it flips the table. Yeah. So, um, I, it's just, it's that crazy. And I think, um, just the awareness of, and there's so many other ways to get screened these days. Yeah. I still recommend going in and getting the, the actual, the
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:45:40):
Full things. Yes. Because you can do what, like the mail-in type.
Kelly Magee (00:45:43):
Yes. And those are getting really good. Um, and if that's all you're willing to do, do it. At least do that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:45:49):
Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Um, the organization that you mentioned that you guys, how do you work with them? Is it, um, is it proceeds, is it awareness? Like is it events? What do you guys do? Well,
Kelly Magee (00:45:59):
It's an event. So we, um, we help sponsor this event and it is called Get Your Rear In Gear.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:05):
Love it. Oh yeah. I think I saw some t-shirts on social media for that. Yeah. Yes.
Kelly Magee (00:46:09):
And that's, it'll, it's coming up in April. Mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:11):
<affirmative>.
Kelly Magee (00:46:12):
And, um, we just, again, to raise awareness, it's to honor, we also, um, honor survivors. Okay. And, um, people who are even battling it now. And it's just really to, again, raise awareness. 'cause it's kind of this quiet thing that it's, it's, but it's really significant. It
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:27):
Knows impact know which, which is crazy. 'cause to me, I feel like it's become louder and louder. But I think you're right. It's still too quiet. Mm-hmm. So many things that are out there. Yes. So that event is here.
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Kelly Magee (00:46:36):
Yes. It's,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:36):
We have
Kelly Magee (00:46:37):
Several, yes. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:38):
And
Kelly Magee (00:46:38):
We, um, it, we hosted outta the corporate woods. It's a, it's a
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:42):
Three
Kelly Magee (00:46:42):
Mile walk.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:43):
Oh, okay.
Kelly Magee (00:46:44):
You slash run. It's also, it's a timed run. So people who are doing things for their,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:49):
Their
Kelly Magee (00:46:49):
Running things
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:46:50):
So people can find that online to register. And pretty much anyone, well, I don't know, is there like a max or capacity or anything? No, we, we
Kelly Magee (00:46:57):
Will grow to the size of, of people's ability to join us.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:47:00):
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Great. Um, and then how do you feel, how does Rob make his way into, like, you working with Q 39 today, where do you wanna take it? Like how does that look for you?
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Kelly Magee (00:47:10):
Sure. So I think I talked about culture and community. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:47:13):
Those
Kelly Magee (00:47:13):
Two things. I think the next thing was deciding, I wanna grow it, I wanna continue. 'cause he was
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:47:16):
Looking
Kelly Magee (00:47:17):
At a third spot.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:47:18):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:47:19):
So, um, to do that though, we were already a lot of people. Oh, it's just two restaurants. Well, we had over a hundred employees per restaurant. And that's big. Yeah. And so the idea of growing it to yet a third location with our, we need some structure underneath it. So, um, we, the first we hired was an HR director in 2021. Okay. And, um, started building that in our team's capacity, minimizing turnover and making it again, a good place to work. Yeah. But we have just a continued to grow from there. So, um, we have, um, an executive chef, director of culinary. Okay. We have a COO we have now under our HR director, we have a training manager and a recruiting manager. And we have director of brand. Yes. So we have a, we have a full, we call it support office because Yeah. The corporate office sounds, we are more involved Littley and we're there to support our operations. But yes, we, when we built that out in the last two, three years, and so no, now we're ready and we can, we can open these, these new restaurants fully prepared to manage our guests. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:22):
It'll be interesting to see. Have you thought about expanding beyond kc, Kansas, Missouri?
Kelly Magee (00:48:27):
Maybe we get requests
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:28):
To determined all the time. I bet you do. We get
Kelly Magee (00:48:30):
Requests all the time and I think, I think there might be room for that mm-hmm
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:34):
<affirmative>.
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Kelly Magee (00:48:34):
Um, providing that memorable dining experience. Yeah. You know, anywhere is, is always an option. And it's making sure we have people who continue to carry that barbecue knowledge and provide that particular cuisine with the exceptional hospitality experience as well.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:48:48):
I was just gonna say, I'd love to hear a little bit more, um, genuinely every time that we go, um, we always, it's very efficient. It's very professional, it's very clean. It's, everyone's so kind. So I'm sure you've got a whole thing going on behind the scenes in terms of how you train people who are patron facing, right? Yes. Yes. 'cause I mean, it seems so, um, just consistent and Well, thank you. Leaves you feeling like every time we go, there's never an issue. At least that's been my experience. Good process. I'm to
Kelly Magee (00:49:18):
Hear that. Thank you. Thank you. So we, um, we do have a really, um, amazing team. We have a lot of veteran servers who've been with us for a long time. Yeah. And so I think, um, we even wanna make it even better than that. Okay. We want more, um, more connections and like a little more, um, friendly even. Because sometimes we're so busy it's easy to fall into the, let's
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:40):
I can imagine crank
Kelly Magee (00:49:41):
Sure. It slides into transactional because Yeah. Again, we're busy so they might be efficient, but we also want that you to feel a little more connected to them Yeah. And them to you. Okay. So we're actually coaching to that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:49:53):
Oh, interesting. Okay. Great. And do people come to you looking for like, mentorship? Not you, but I mean maybe the chefs and the whole team. Sure. But like mentorship specifically in the world of getting into smoking or grilling or whatever. What does that look like for people who are like, I really wanna get into that world. How do they go about that? Sure.
Kelly Magee (00:50:10):
With organization leaders, I'm not familiar with that, um, these days 'cause I know I'm not as close like to the chefs. Um, but they do get a lot of requests and we do hire people who, um, are interested. So it's not just a a someone who wants to be a cook or a chef. We have to hire someone who wants, is interested in actually with these, dealing with these major proteins when you cook 80 briskets a day Yeah. You gotta really enjoy that. And so true. We are, we're looking for people who enjoy that smoking experience. And yes, we do get a lot. Um, but it is a commitment.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:50:38):
Yeah. Absolutely. Um, okay. How do you think the Kansas City food scene maybe evolved after Q 39 came about? Do you have any opinions
Kelly Magee (00:50:47):
On that? Interesting question. Um, well, I mentioned obviously earlier that, um, it's a crowded barbecue market mm-hmm
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Mindy Hargesheimer (00:50:54):
<affirmative>.
Kelly Magee (00:50:54):
And I think most restaurants fall into, um, either craft smaller place or the bigger places mm-hmm <affirmative>. And, um, I think when you have anybody new that decides to be innovative and do things a little differently, yeah. I think everybody gives them all a chance to step up their game and evaluate what they're doing Sure. And how they can continue to be better too.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:51:15):
Makes sense. Yeah. And then also, don't you work with a few other, I had, I had to look at my notes here. You work with, um, a few other partners here. Right. Let's see, you had your pillars include food insecurity, youth development, mental health and wellness, and colon cancer awareness. Yes. Are there other organizations you wanna shout out Sure. That you guys have worked with? Whether on maybe like the proceeds or event side or even like food collaborations that you guys have done? We
Kelly Magee (00:51:38):
Have several. So Ronald McDonald
(00:51:40):
House we've done from, um, for almost since the beginning. Okay. And it's a Trent Green Golf Classic that they have Okay. Every June. And we provide all of the food for that luncheon and Perfect. Love doing that and supporting that. Yeah. Um, we had initially, um, looked at, you know, children's Health and kind of Children's Mercy, and that has migrated into youth development and mental health. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. On, on those two things. And we just partner with, uh, a myriad of organizations. One of our, our campaigns is to just say yes. And so Oh, okay. Um, when somebody needs something like, oh, can we get a gift card for this? Or something for that? And yeah. We standardized it, so. Sure. Um, kind of
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:52:18):
Have to, I would imagine, especially with the outreach that you probably get. So
Kelly Magee (00:52:21):
Instead of, um, trying to just respond to each request mm-hmm <affirmative>. Our goal is to just say yes. And so we take, um, our all in gift, um, gift set, which is sauces and rubs. Okay. Every one of them. And then we partner that with a gift card. It's $150 gift card. Perfect. And then that it becomes the, the, the thing that they can use, whether it's a contest prize, a raffle item, a silent auction thing. So people just go to the website and there's a form to fill out and you select which store you're going to come pick it up. We just need a 5 0 1 C3. And that's done. Easy
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:52:54):
Peasy. So
Kelly Magee (00:52:54):
We have, we helped over 300 organizations last year
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:52:57):
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Just
Kelly Magee (00:52:58):
Doing that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:52:58):
That's huge.
Kelly Magee (00:52:59):
So it, it, it, it's a better way to manage a lot of those things and, and touch so many more people.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:05):
Yeah. Absolutely. Um, and I would imagine maybe that played a part in, you won an award in 2024, right? The restaurateur.
Kelly Magee (00:53:14):
Yes. Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:15):
It's a hard word to say.
Kelly Magee (00:53:16):
Restaurateur. Yes.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:17):
I wanna put an in in there, but I don't think there's even an in in there. There's <laugh>, which is so funny. Yeah. How did that come about and what did that mean to you?
Kelly Magee (00:53:23):
Congratulations. It's huge. Thank you. Thank you. It, um, it was an extremely poignant thing for me. Yeah. 'cause I had always imagined Rob winning that. Okay. And, um, so it was, it was, it, it really took me by surprise. I remember they, they announced it in November and I walked into the room of people and they shouted surprise. And I, I mean, there had to be at least 50 people in that room. Oh. And I, I look around and it's everybody from my kids and my parents and, and business people. And it just shocked me. And I, I, I literally, there was a video and I wa I laugh and I say, 'cause I spun and walked outta the room. 'cause I was like, what
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:53:58):
Is happening right now? Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:54:00):
And then you think, what did I forget, <laugh>?
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:54:02):
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Of course you're like, it's like the Oscars Right. Or something where they're like, huh. You know, you're put on the spot trying
Kelly Magee (00:54:06):
To remember. I just, and I really didn't, it was so unexpected. And, um, but I think, um, it kind of gave me a little bit of confidence that sure. That I am running this, this, these restaurants and I am capable of leading them and I am making an impact that, that I want, want to do. That's my goal.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:54:24):
I love that. Um, I also saw that you guys received the Kansas City Barbecue Society, Carolyn Wells Ambassador Award.
Kelly Magee (00:54:31):
Yes. That's
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:54:32):
A mouthful.
Kelly Magee (00:54:32):
It is a
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:54:33):
Mouthful. Um, but also equally fun to hear about what is that like, how do you go about, um, getting involved with winning that award and what do you do with it that's
Kelly Magee (00:54:41):
So exciting. Sure. Again, it was another surprise. I, you know, I, um, I have relished our competition heritage and so I am constantly looking for ways to promote Kansas City Barbecue Society. As, you know, if you just wanna get in backyard grilling and learning more about smoking, they're a fun way to do that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:54:58):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:54:59):
And then supporting them with all their judges classes and then even our managers, um, we highly encourage them to attend these judges so they understand
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:08):
What it takes.
Kelly Magee (00:55:08):
Sure.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:09):
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Well, that would be fun. Anyway, so, so that's, I
Kelly Magee (00:55:11):
Think they, and Carolyn Wells, um, I know her, she, um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:13):
Is one
Kelly Magee (00:55:14):
Of the original founders of Kansas City Barbecue Society. And so it's just, it was really, I'm just glad that we can bring more people in or just shout out to them and recognize them who they are because they, it is quite an amazing big organization.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:55:27):
Yeah. I love that. Okay, great. Um, we'll get into some fun rapid fire questions. Okay. This has been so fun to talk about, and I feel like I told you before that we could talk for hours and hours, but before we get into rapid fire, um, you know, when you think of Q 39 and what sets you guys apart as your own unique experience for people, um, whether local or coming in from Argentina or wherever, what do you want people to think of when Q 39 comes to mind when they walk away, when they're away from the restaurant and it pops into their mind because they're craving it? Like what do you want people to kinda think about with the Q 39 brand with you at the helm and what you guys are creating here?
Kelly Magee (00:56:06):
I think, um, I want people to walk away feeling good about their experience, not just from the food they ate mm-hmm <affirmative>. But that they were happy and welcome and, and they enjoyed. And there's an old, um, a Maya Angelou quote mm-hmm <affirmative>. And I think Will Gera uses this and, and it's, um, people won't remember what you say or did, but they will remember how you made them feel.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:56:27):
One of my favorite quotes, because it is just so obvious that that is something that's so important, I think in our, our lives. I teach my kids that. Yeah. I love that.
Kelly Magee (00:56:36):
And so as we grow and get busy mm-hmm <affirmative>. How do we again, slow down and and take time to make people feel welcome Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:56:43):
And,
Kelly Magee (00:56:43):
And enjoy their experience.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:56:44):
Yeah. Okay. Very good. And anything else you wanna share about what you guys are doing? What you're creating, what you're serving, what you're doing as the leader, um, you know, that we haven't covered already? Right.
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Kelly Magee (00:56:55):
Wow. Well, I really appreciate this opportunity. Yeah. I honestly am super focused right now on getting, we're doubling the size of the company, opening two more stores. No small be
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:57:03):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (00:57:03):
In six months, in less than six months. So our team is all hands on deck focusing, making those successful.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:57:09):
Okay. Great. All right. So let's get into some fun rapid fire questions here. Sure. Um, are you more a burnt ends or brisket kinda gal
Kelly Magee (00:57:15):
Burnt ends
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:57:16):
Burns. Okay. Sauce on the side or smothered on what you're eating
Kelly Magee (00:57:20):
On the side.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:57:21):
Okay. Uh, most underrated barbecue side,
Kelly Magee (00:57:26):
Cucumber, onion, uh,
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:57:28):
Salad. Ooh. Didn't see that one coming. Okay. Why So
Kelly Magee (00:57:31):
It is, um, it's very, it's an old family recipe of rob's and
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:57:35):
It's got
Kelly Magee (00:57:35):
That vinegar nest that really go pairs well with any that, the heavier flavors
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:57:41):
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That makes sense with that vinegar. Okay. Most controversial barbecue opinion you maybe have heard from somebody. Could be Kansas City related, could be burnt in related <laugh>. Anything come to mind of something that you're like, Hmm.
Kelly Magee (00:57:57):
No, I don't think there's, I don't think there's any, I love it because there's room for all, I think, yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:03):
I
Kelly Magee (00:58:03):
Think barbecue represents the diversity that is so important in, in our culture today. Yeah. And I think that that's what schools, because whether it comes from a Latino perspective or um, uh, American Southwest mm-hmm <affirmative>. Or, um, even the East Coast with the Caroline Carolinas and the vinegar based stuff, there's so many different cultures that come into play. Yeah. You've got, um, the Asian cultures and all of their amazing things they can
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:26):
Do with it.
Kelly Magee (00:58:27):
Uhhuh, <affirmative>. So I just, I love that. That's what barbecue is. There's
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:31):
A place for everybody. And
Kelly Magee (00:58:32):
You
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:32):
Know,
Kelly Magee (00:58:32):
You may not like one or the other. We'll just pivot 'cause there's something right there. An alternative.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:36):
Yeah. Love it. Okay. Um, what's one menu item people sleep on at Q 39? If it's not the cucumber thing you just mentioned? Is there something, what do else, what do mean? People don't necessarily, uh, one menu item that's fantastic that maybe people just kind of bypass a lot. It's,
Kelly Magee (00:58:52):
It's those tacos. The
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:58:53):
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Tacos. Okay. Great. I think they're so terrific. Great answer. Yeah, I'll be getting those when I go back. Um, okay. What's one word you would use to describe the Kansas City food scene? So beyond barbecue, when people are coming to town or if you're speaking at an event and, you know, I don't think so. For example, I come from Chicago and the food scene there is clearly amazing. But the food scene in Kansas City is divine and incredible and we love it here. And I think people don't realize that. Um, so kind of on that note, how would you sort of describe
Kelly Magee (00:59:22):
One word? I would say unexpected.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:59:24):
Okay.
Kelly Magee (00:59:24):
But I think it's because of what you just said. Yeah. I think that, um, Kansas City has some, um, kind of arts-based threads in its bones. Very much so. And yeah. Um, with the Nelson with, uh, the performing arts of the coffin center mm-hmm <affirmative>. With, we have so much here. I think food, the culinary
arts is just an extension of that. And our, I love that our community really embraces, um, the local restaurateurs and the, and the local flair that people are bringing, bringing to the
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:59:50):
Restaurants.
Kelly Magee (00:59:50):
Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (00:59:51):
Absolutely. Okay. Um, what is something that's on your Kansas City bucket list right now that you wanna do? That's a good one.
Kelly Magee (00:59:57):
I am sad to say I have not been to the Truman Museum in years.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:02):
Okay.
Kelly Magee (01:00:02):
And it's been redone.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:04):
I haven't been either. So maybe you and I can go together. Yes. I would. Let's it that because it's on my list as well. Yeah. Is that, that's it. Independence, yes. Right. Okay. Got it. Um, who is someone that you would love to see on the podcast here? Someone you would recommend that's related to Kansas City that you think, uh, the audience would enjoy hearing from or finding inspiration and,
Kelly Magee (01:00:23):
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Hmm, that's a good question. There are so many interesting people here.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:26):
Yeah. We were talking before we started recording of all the stories there are to tell Yes. Of people here and businesses and individuals and everything. So,
Kelly Magee (01:00:35):
Well really there, is there a wrong one? Right, right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:38):
'cause
Kelly Magee (01:00:38):
Again, of that, of that particular thing.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:40):
Sure.
Kelly Magee (01:00:42):
I'm going to go out and say a friend of mine, Matt Stewart, and have you met him or know him?
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:47):
He's coming on.
Kelly Magee (01:00:48):
Oh, there you
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:00:48):
Go. He and his wife,
Kelly Magee (01:00:50):
I think that's who I was referring to. I think their story is, um, is just so amazing. And, um, again, people who have done, walked a very courageous road that mm-hmm <affirmative>. That they did not choose.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:01:04):
And how did you get connected to, because he's, is he on the news today
Kelly Magee (01:01:07):
Or was Yes, he has been. Um, he might be going through treatment again right now. Yeah. But, um, he has been back on since treatments and stuff, so, um, yeah. Uh, he actually came, um, with, um, I had the first annual national colon cancer event mm-hmm <affirmative>. I just kind of did it more as a, a celebration of recognizing Rob mm-hmm <affirmative>. And kind of his journey. But we had all the health professionals, we had the get your rear and gear folks. We had a bunch of people come. Yeah. And Matt kindly came and spoke Oh, great. To that. Yeah. And at that point in time, and this is just what was, which makes my heart, is like at that point in time, he had had negative scans and, and negative results.
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And then that has since obviously changed. Yeah. And, um, but again, it's like how do we help people again, be courageous and they're doing so well. Yeah. And be supportive of them and their journey a as that and their family.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:01:58):
Yeah. I have a, a college friend from KU actually who referred them to me. She's like, you need to have them on and tell their story and what they're doing right now, so they will be on. Yeah. Good. Actually in a couple weeks here. Um, what do you love the most about living in Kansas City?
Kelly Magee (01:02:13):
Oh, it sounds like such a trite answer, but I love the people. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And it's just, um, it's funny because even from Chicago Yeah. We've had people come, like, the neighbor waved at me, like, it's like, I don't even know them. And it's like, yeah, that's kind of what we do do.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:26):
It's funny because I'm like Midwest. It's still Midwest. It is, but Midwest nice. Yeah.
Kelly Magee (01:02:30):
It's, it's really true though. I think, um, like people will strike up conversations with the elevator. You have no idea who they are. Right. It's just, I think we just, everybody relates to each other on a human level. Mm-hmm. And I just think that's really special. And again, it sounds like such an easy answer to say, but I think it does is make her
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:02:46):
Pretty special, but rings special for everybody. Yes. I think we're very collaborative as a community here. I think that, yeah. I think, and I don't know about the restaurant industry, but I'm sure people are very supportive of each other and, um, yeah. I mean there's just so much like crossover of people, it seems like doing partnerships and things to help each other out. Sure. So, absolutely. I love that. When you're not eating at Q 39, where are you eating? And you can't say your house. <laugh>. <laugh>.
Kelly Magee (01:03:10):
Well, I do have a chef of my own, I think.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:13):
Love that. No,
Kelly Magee (01:03:14):
It's, it's, it's my boyfriend, so it's
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:16):
Like, yes. Oh, okay. Well great. Shout out to the boyfriend.
Kelly Magee (01:03:18):
Yes,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:18):
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Absolutely.
Kelly Magee (01:03:19):
Andrew. He is amazing. Um, but so that's a, that's a, you know, a bonus, right? You don't even
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:25):
Absolutely.
Kelly Magee (01:03:26):
Um,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:26):
What does he cook, by the way?
Kelly Magee (01:03:27):
Oh,
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:27):
What's he known for?
Kelly Magee (01:03:28):
Well, he's a classically trained chef as well. Okay. Apparently I like chefs.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:33):
You do. I like this though. Yeah. And, and
Kelly Magee (01:03:35):
They even graduated the same year and he and Rob were, were work acquaintances. Okay. Yeah. So, um, so he, he does, right now we eat a lot of rice bowls. I know that sounds silly, but
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:44):
It's just because I love rice bowls. We cook rice, love, love, love. Yeah. Add protein,
Kelly Magee (01:03:48):
Add some veg and you're done. It's
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:50):
Easy. I know. And it feels good. It's like very hearty but healthy. Yeah.
Kelly Magee (01:03:53):
It's
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:03:53):
Like the clean eating but also delicious. So I'm a big fan of that too. Yes. Lots
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Kelly Magee (01:03:56):
Of flavors. So yeah. Restaurant wise, we have a lot of favorites. I'm gonna, uh, small shout out to our friends Nick and Leslie Kelner. They have the Antler room. Yeah.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:05):
And Angen.
Kelly Magee (01:04:06):
Um, they have some fantastic places. Um, and Verina, I haven't been there in a while. Someone we were just talking with them and how great that experience was.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:14):
Yeah.
Kelly Magee (01:04:14):
Again, Kansas City has so many good ones. Really, it depends what
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:16):
You for.
Kelly Magee (01:04:17):
Right.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:17):
I know. And I tell people when they're looking for an experience like the Antler Room, I always recommend the Antler Room. So Good. And we did Angie and like such a, we talked, I love sitting at their bar. I mean, that's what you do. You sit there and you talk to the staff and it's, or the guests that our favorite thing to do guests. Yes. Or the other guests. Yes. We did that too. We sat right next to people and ended up talking to them and it just makes a memorable experience as, as well with that. So It does, it does. Good. Okay. Well where can people find and follow you Q 39, um, and any other organization that you would maybe wanna Oh
Kelly Magee (01:04:47):
Gosh, thank you. So, um, q3 nine kc.com, you know, our website, um, we are on Facebook and Instagram. Um, I kind of have a low profile. I'm kind of not out posting
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:56):
Very
Kelly Magee (01:04:56):
Often. Okay.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:04:57):
Totally fair.
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Kelly Magee (01:04:57):
So, um, I honestly don't think I can keep up with it. It is, we talked about it before lot. It can be a lot, lot I'm liking and other friends and I'll post occasionally, but yeah, nothing big there. Um, I think if, um, you look at Get your rear end gear and the Colon Cancer Coalition.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:05:14):
Okay.
Kelly Magee (01:05:14):
Um, it's a.org, um, designation and uh, help join us in April. That would be fantastic. Yes. Most importantly, um, Rob's Ruben, the sandwich that we have every March. Oh, right. I forgot to say that. That's right. Good. Rob's Ruben. Good call. Okay. Is I would say it's probably the best Reuben in the city 'cause it's smoked corn beef. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. It was his favorite sandwich. He would only serve it like right around, uh, uh, St. Patrick's
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:05:38):
Day. I was gonna say, that's kind of ironic what St. Patrick's Day and Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Right. It's the same, it lands together.
Kelly Magee (01:05:42):
So, and that was his favorite sandwich. I said, okay. So we march every year. This is the fifth annual year that we're doing this. Okay. We take the proceeds from that sandwich, which we donate back to KU Cancer Center Oh, perfect. Specifically for colon cancer.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:05:54):
Okay. Great
Kelly Magee (01:05:55):
Research and, and, um, yes. Treatment.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:05:57):
I love it. Okay. Well, awesome. Well, this has been such an honor and a pleasure to have you on. Um, honestly, you're super impressive. You're so well spoken. Oh, you're doing amazing things. And, um, you know, if you're ever doing any public speaking or anything, let me know. I'll come, I'll come watch you. And then let's go to the Truman, uh, library together so we can check that off our bucket list. I would
Kelly Magee (01:06:16):
Seriously do that.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:06:16):
Let's do it. Awesome. Well, so good to chat with you.
Kelly Magee (01:06:19):
Yes, thank you so much. Take care.
Mindy Hargesheimer (01:06:20):
You too. Thank you so much for tuning in and finding inspiration in these incredible stories. If you love what you hear, be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Leave a rating and share the show to help these Kansas City voices reach even more listeners.