Kansas City Barbecue

Henry Perry Passing on the Torch

With business moving into the right direction, Mr. Perry had to hire employees to run the business when he was not around. As the owner of 'Henry's Perry- King of Barbecue', Mr. Perry wanted to give back to African Americans with job opportunities, therefore he hired two African Americans, Charlie and Arthur Bryant. Charlie and Arthur began working for Mr. Perry and got familiar with the ingredients for making Mr. Perry signature barbecue. Arthur said, "Henry Perry really knew his stuff, and I learned the game from him."
In 1940, Mr. Perry became sick and passed away just six days before his sixty-six birthday. Being Mr. Perry partner in his business, he left behind the entrusted brother, Charlie Bryant. As for the legacy for Mr. Perry, he did not have any children or a spouse, he was named 'King of Barbecue. For instance, on his death certificate, on line 10, his job title is listed as "barbecue man".




Charlie Bryant held onto the business for a few years and then sold the company to his younger brother Arthur Bryant 1946. Everything remained the same except for the name being changed to 'Arthur Bryant'. The next objective that Mr. Bryant was focusing on the barbecue sauce because of the cayenne pepper brought tears to customers eyes. He made the sudden change to the signature sauce and move the store to the current location today.

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