Stoking the Fire: Holy Smoke BBQ’s philosophy on grilling and giving back

Holy Smoke BBQ. // Photo by Steph Castor

As a kid, Jeron Slater developed a passion for cooking while grilling with his father. Now, he owns and operates his own restaurant [8050 Leavenworth Rd, KCK] along with his wife, the rest of his family, and the young men they mentor.

Jeron and Nykita Slater—locally known as Mr. and Mrs. Holy Smoke—were both working full-time jobs in May 2021 when they began selling barbeque out of a mobile unit at 81st and Leavenworth.

“I was probably putting in 70 hours a week, Monday through Sunday,” Jeron says. “When I got out of work, I barbequed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night.”

He worked at the Kansas City, Kansas Public School District for 13 years but recently resigned to focus on his restaurant. The Slaters opened a brick-and-mortar in Nov. 2023 and expanded their open hours with help from the Black MasterMind Group Charitable Foundation.

Holy Smoke BBQ // Photo by Steph Castor

The Kansas City-based foundation provides education, mentorship, and funding to Black-owned businesses. Founder and CEO Dr. Donnetta Watson helped Holy Smoke develop its operating structure.

Now, the Slaters have two primary goals: smoke quality meats and give back to the community.

In the land of barbecue, their food stands out because the sauce is always served on the side.

“Real barbecue don’t need no sauce,” Jeron says. “You want to taste the flavor and the food and the meat. The sauce just covers up all the flavor inside of the meat, and we would like to let our flavors do the talking.”

Holy Smoke’s location is also unique. The Slaters have built their business inside of a food desert.

Holy Smoke BBQ // Photo by Steph Castor

“We used to ride past here every day once we used to leave our weekend location,” Jeron says. “We felt like trying to stay out west. We wanted to single ourselves out from other restaurants and barbecue places, and we felt like Leavenworth Road was the best spot for us because there’s nothing out here in the western area. We have a lot of support from the surrounding neighborhoods. We love this location.”

Right across the street from Holy Smoke is KCK Fire Department’s Station 4. The firefighters are among the business’ best customers.

Jeron has a special rapport with first responders. He was trained in one of the KCK department’s first cadet programs i

Jeron Slater. // Photo By Steph Castor

n 2005 but started working for the school district shortly after.

“Every weekend, the fire department comes in support,” Jeron says.

He and his wife are organizing specials for first responders, including an appreciation day when they’re open to serve this population exclusively.

Holy Smoke has catered to special events for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Royals, the KCK Public School District, and the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame. They have also provided hot meals to local warming centers.

The Slaters’ business is operated with family, friends, and young high school men whom they’ve begun mentoring. Jeron calls this program “Keep the Flame Alive.”

“We’re trying to uplift young men,” he says. “Basically, showing the kids how to start a fire, the proper temperatures of meat, cooking, barbecuing—all the stuff of that nature.”

“One of our things is that they’ve got to try to keep their grades up,” Jeron says. “We try to have conversations with them. We talk to them. We take them to get haircuts. We go to their sports events. We try to show them a lot of love.”

“There’s not a lot of father figures in these young boys’ lives,” he explains. “Myself as a man, loving to cook—I want to show these young boys. Some people think cooking is a woman’s job. It’s not. I have a passion for cooking. I’m noticing a lot of these youngsters don’t know how to start a grill or chop up meat. Now, I can step to the side, and they can start the grill and check the food. They can do all of that stuff.”

Holy Smoke BBQ // Photo by Steph Castor

The Slaters implemented this idea before even owning their brick-and-mortar. Their son, Jeron Jr., and nephew learn the same skills and help with the business.

Although Holy Smoke has only recently expanded to a permanent location at 8050 Leavenworth Road, but they’re already thinking about their next steps.

“We love where we’re at, but we also want to grow more,” Nykita says. “Who wouldn’t want to grow? We want to eventually look into having a sit-in restaurant as well. We still want to keep our carry-out diner. This is our home, our baby. We love it here. But who wouldn’t want to grow?”