The original "Uncle Joe" was named Roy. Roy liked Bar-b-Q and always wanted to have a place of his own. One summer while in Tennessee, Roy became hungry for Bar-b-Q. He stopped in a small town and asked if there was a good Bar-b-Q around. He was told that the best Bar-b-Q in the state was just outside of town. Roy got the directions and started out of town on this country road. After a while the b
lacktop stopped and gravel road took over. It seemed like an eternity, the woods got thicker and darker, and Roy wondered if he hadn't taken the wrong road. Just when he was about to give up, he came upon a large clearing in the woods. In the center was this old decrepit building with the name "Uncle Joe's" on the roof. Normally with the way the building looked Roy would have left, however, the place was packed with cars. He went inside and ate, and found the Bar-b-Q to be the best he ever had. In 1956, Roy finally started his Bar-b-Q in Branson, Missouri. He remembered the name "Uncle Joe's" and decided that the name had a lot to do with success of the Tennessee Bar-b-Q, so he called his establishment the same. At the same time Roy started his Bar-b-Q, the Corps of Engineers was building the Table Rock Dam on Table Rock Lake in Branson. Roy thought he would take advantage of the situation, but what the men wanted was not Bar-b-Q. Since times were hard and his business was not doing so well he decided to use his business as a front for what the men really wanted...white lightning...good home made stuff right out of Arkansas. Roy's business was, shall we say, booming until 1959, the year the dam was completed. The men who he catered to went back home and Branson was becoming a "Family" type vacation spot. This is when Roy decided to sell out to Ken and Doris Nunn. Ken and Doris were former pharmaceutical sales people from Wichita, Kansas. They were good people and they gave "Uncle Joe's" a good reputation that would be know throughout Branson. They both operated "Uncle Joe's" as a Bar-b-Q for about four years when the restaurant became too much for them (they were semi-retired). Ken and Doris had developed a smokehouse operation along with the restaurant, selling hams and bacon through the mail. They decided to operate the mail order operation along with what they sold in the country store. In 1969, Doris became very ill and Ken put the business up for sale. Frank Boenker, a regular customer, heard of the sale and called his grandson Dick Biedenstein, who after a five year stint in the Navy, was finishing his degree in smoked and cured meats from Missouri University. Upon hearing about the sale Dick contacted the Nunns and decided to head for Branson. In the summer of 1970, Dick moved to Forsyth, Missouri and went to work for Ken. Doris was simply too ill to work anymore. This allowed Dick to get a feel for the business. In January 1971, Dick bought "Uncle Joe's" and continued the mail order business. Unfortunately in 1972, the mail order busines was not doing as well as he had hoped. He was give a building, formerly Garcia's Mexican Food, which was being torn down to make room for a new Motel and Restaurant. Dick took down the building in 12 ft. sections and rebuilt it as the first four additions to the existing 24'X24' building and turned Uncle Joe's back into a Bar-b-Q restaurant. In the fall of 1990, Dick wanted to pursue another venture. So he sold his half of the business to his long time friend and partner Maria Elena (Garcia) Wilson and her husband Jimmie Wayne Wilson.In the the fall of 2002, Uncle Joe's Bar-b-Q sauce was named 2nd place winner of the Kansas City Masterpiece Bar-b-Q competition. This recognition made our Bar-b-Q sauce one of the most saught after sauces not only in the state, but also in the country! The couple owned "Uncle Joes" until the winter of 2005 when they sold the restaurant. It has been five years since The Wilson's have sold "Uncle Joe's Bar-b-Q", but this surely doesn't mean that the Bar-b-Q is gone. The Wilson's have decided to start bottling that delicious Award Winning Bar-b-Q sauce that you remember from the original restaurant. They are currently working on stocking your local grocery stores with some of their sauce and are starting a mail order business. Uncle Joe's Bar-b-Q sauce is also being sold at their sister restaurant in Branson, Missouri, Cakes-N-Creams. This page will update you of any new news with the famous Uncle Joe's Bar-b-Q sauce. If you have any questions concerning shipment, store placement, or any other concerns regarding Uncle Joe's Bar-b-Q, please refer to the "contact information" in order to communicate with us. Jim and Maria would like to continue in saying thank you and..."Let our family serve your family the real flavor of the Ozarks"
