A carryout window in Kansas City, Kansas, that has served the Turner neighborhood pork tenderloins for roughly six decades has a new name and a new face behind the counter. Kimberly Rowland, who took over the drive-in earlier in 2026, officially renamed it Kimmie's Tasty Queen on September 1 and is now planning a permanent history display.
Rowland's plans for a permanent history display come as she settles into ownership of a restaurant whose recent transition was covered by KCTV5 and FOX4 News Kansas City. KansasTravel.org traces the restaurant's history to the 1960s, when it opened as Carter's Tasty Queen, before the Christys took over in 1983.
Four Decades Under One Family
Before it was Kimmie's, the drive-in at 1405 S 55th St spent more than 40 years as Christy's Tasty Queen, run by Lowell and Marla Christy. Per KansasTravel.org, the couple retired and sold the business in February 2026, and word of the sale triggered such a rush of loyal customers that the restaurant completely sold out of its signature pork tenderloins before closing under their ownership. The Christys had owned the location since the early 1980s. The Kansas City Star reported that 64 Kansas City restaurants closed in 2025, providing broader local context for the restaurant's ownership transition.
The site's roots go back even further. The same KansasTravel.org account notes the drive-in originally opened in the 1960s as Carter's Tasty Queen before the Christy family purchased it in 1983 and carried the Tasty Queen name forward for the next four decades. Through all three owner eras, the core menu has stayed largely intact.
Saturday Hours Return, New Items Added
Rowland has already made some changes since taking over. In March 2026, she restored Saturday business hours, the first Saturday opening since 2020. During a visit one month after the February 2026 ownership change, the drive-in had expanded its menu to include kids' meals for children 10 and under, breakfast sandwiches, homemade ice cream sandwiches, and apple streusel, while keeping prices on its signature items unchanged, the same KansasTravel.org report notes.
The building itself hasn't changed much. It remains a carryout-only operation with no indoor seating, according to Our Changing Lives, so customers eat at outdoor picnic tables or in their parked cars, much as they have for decades.
According to the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, a new fire station was the first in the Turner community since 1953 and replaced two township fire stations.
The Sandwich That Built a Following
The diner's calling card remains its giant pork tenderloin sandwich: a pork loin with a crispy coating, fried to roughly a third of an inch thick, that spills well past a standard five-inch bun. KansasTravel.org describes it as a portion widely considered big enough for two meals. That kind of oversized breaded tenderloin is a regional comfort-food staple, and Tenderloin Grill features the style on its menu.
Beyond the storefront, the business name is also associated with a food truck called Christy's on Wheels.
Our Changing Lives describes the drive-in as a beloved local spot. A planned permanent history display would keep that history visible, even as the sign out front reads Kimmie's instead of Christy's.
