Beef costs have climbed sharply in recent months at two of Kansas City's most historic barbecue joints, and both are choosing to eat the difference rather than raise menu prices. At Rosedale Bar-B-Q in Kansas City, Kansas, Marisha Brown-Smith says beef costs have risen 60% to 70% over the last few months with no sign of slowing down. At Arthur Bryant's across the state line, Mike Peterson says some beef cuts have risen a dollar per pound over the past year.
Marisha Brown-Smith, vice president and event coordinator at Rosedale Bar-B-Q, told KCTV that the increases have been relentless, climbing steadily for several months without a break. Her family has run the restaurant for 93 years, since her grandfather started Rosedale Bar-B-Q in 1934 during a period of meat rationing. Beef sandwiches remain among the shop's top sellers, and its combination dinners typically pair ribs with either beef or pork, according to the same report.
A Herd Shrunk to Its Smallest Since 1951
The pressure squeezing Kansas City pitmasters traces back to a national cattle shortage years in the making. The total U.S. cattle and calf herd fell to 86.2 million head on January 1, 2026, the smallest national inventory since 1951, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The shrinking beef cow herd has added to supply constraints.
The shrinking herd has constrained cattle supplies, adding pressure to the market. Beef prices have continued to rise amid those supply constraints. Wholesale brisket costs have also added to the pressure on barbecue businesses.
Some Cuts Up a Dollar a Pound in a Year
At Arthur Bryant's, assistant general manager Mike Peterson says some beef cuts have increased a full dollar per pound over the past year, per the KCTV report. Arthur Bryant's traces its roots to the early 1920s, when Henry Perry, often called the father of Kansas City barbecue, began barbecuing, before passing the business to Charlie Bryant in 1940 and then Arthur Bryant in 1946, according to Visit KC.
Despite the cost pressure, Arthur Bryant's says it will keep serving sliced beef and burnt ends indefinitely, and is looking at other menu items, including its sausage and turkey combo, to help offset rising beef expenses. Rosedale Bar-B-Q says it intends to keep offering beef as long as customers are willing to pay for it. Neither restaurant plans to remove beef from its menu, and both are covering the increased costs themselves rather than passing them along to diners for now.
Texas Smokehouses Are Cutting Brisket Instead
Not every barbecue business has taken the same approach. Some Texas restaurants have already removed brisket and ribs from their menus entirely as wholesale costs surge, according to background cited in the KCTV report. In Sinton, Texas, Butter's BBQ — a smokehouse twice recognized on Texas Monthly's Top 50 list — announced this month it was dropping brisket after wholesale costs jumped a dollar a pound in a single week, a spike that would have forced a retail price of $51 per pound, as reported by Yahoo News NZ. Hoodline covered that decision in a report on Butter's BBQ earlier this week.
Kansas City's approach so far has leaned toward menu diversification rather than outright removal, with pitmasters bridging the gap while bracing customers for possible price hikes as a last resort.
What Comes Next for Kansas City Diners
Brown-Smith anticipates a potential price hike may eventually be necessary at Rosedale Bar-B-Q, though the restaurant says it only raises prices when needed and will keep monitoring beef costs before making that call. Future pricing decisions will also hinge on fuel charges and other economic factors beyond beef alone, according to the KCTV report.
At Arthur Bryant's, Peterson said any beef price increase would come only as a last resort, and costs would have to keep climbing significantly before the restaurant changes its menu pricing. Both restaurants say they will continue watching beef prices closely in the months ahead.
