The heart of Hillsdale
Greg and Donna Beverlin’s love story blossomed in a restaurant. The two Kansas City locals met at Stroud’s in 1982—Donna was a waitress and Greg was a hungry customer. Within three months they were engaged.
The newlyweds wanted to stay close to family but dreamt of a quiet, country life. So, in 1983 they started building a home on a 6-acre former hay pasture near the unincorporated town of Hillsdale, Kansas. Donna was a school teacher, who inspired students for nearly 30 years. Greg was a self-employed tile setter. In fact, he’s still in the business.
The pair wanted to run a barbecue restaurant on the weekends. What they lacked in experience, they made up for with entrepreneurial spirit, hard work, and a strong sense of community. In 1986, Greg built a 6-foot tall, limestone barbecue smoker next to the side of their house and started testing and perfecting his techniques. A true barbecue purist, he only used local hickory and oak wood. No gas. No wood pellets. And no injected flavors or rubs.
“You work hard and stay honest, and good things will always come back to you.”
The bank building
After nearly three years of barbecue experimentation, the Beverlins started searching for a charming historic building. Options were limited because they lived in the country—40 miles south of downtown Kansas City.
At the time, Hillsdale was home to just a few hundred people, an elementary school, a church, two gas stations, and a tavern. But not a single restaurant. Picking a tiny rural town didn’t make a lot sense on paper. But when they set eyes on the former Hillsdale State Bank Building in 1989, they knew they found the perfect location.
Built in 1906, Hillsdale State Bank remained in operation until 1930 and merged with the Miami County National Bank in Paola, Kansas. At the time, the bank had $70,000 in deposits. After the bank closed, it stood vacant for years.
The concrete and exposed brick walls were 16 inches thick and the vault’s walls were 22-inches thick. It felt spacious inside, with 12-foot ceilings, large arched windows, and tongue-and-groove pine flooring. The building’s standout feature was its tin ceiling, stamped with floral and Art Deco patterns.
The ceiling had partially collapsed and there was no ventilated heating, cooling or connections to water and sewer lines. They renovated and redesigned the entire space and decorated with rustic décor, including Kansas memorabilia and antiques. Six months later (April of 1989) Hillsdale Bank Bar B-Q opened its doors to the public.
The restaurant transformed many times over the years. At first, it only sat 28 people. Within a year, Greg and Donna built a patio for folks to dine outside. But that still wasn’t enough space. By 1992, they added a gift shop and sold Kansas souvenirs, crafts, and landscaping pieces, including Donna’s popular customized sandstones. But the most impressive decision they made was adding a railroad caboose, which expanded seating capacity to 70.
The caboose
The restaurant sat parallel to train tracks. Children watched passing trains from the arched windows, excited each time one charged by. Donna and Greg knew a caboose would make a perfect addition.
“I knew kids would love it. That was a sure bet. But you know who really wants to be seated in there? Adults. You can see it in their eyes.”
They bought a green Burlington Northern caboose from Erman Corp. in 1991. The 38,000-pound dining car was purchased by the pound, trucked to Hillsdale, and put in position using house jacks.
Food and family
Greg slowly smoked meat overnight and only used fresh ingredients, avoided preservatives, and made most menu items from scratch. He also baked fresh bread every day, hand cut french fries, and battered his own onion rings.
To accommodate a larger customer base—including vegetarians and folks with dietary restrictions—the Beverlins added wood-fired pizza to the menu in 2004. They learned how to make and operate a wood-fire pizza oven by visiting the local library. Greg built an oven the size of a walk-in closet, with fire brick and concrete mortar. The oven reached temperatures as high as 700 degrees, cooking pizzas in minutes. Consistent with the barbecue, he only used oak and hickory wood.
The Sauce
Barbecue and sauce go hand-in-hand. In 1986, Greg and Donna started experimenting with recipes. They wanted a versatile tomato-based barbecue sauce that could compliment a variety of meats. Not too spicy and not too sweet. It took nearly 50 batches before they perfected what would become an American Royal award-winner.
The Sauce was named by Donna and was meant to stand apart from the competition. Originally, it was sold in styrofoam cups at the restaurant. The Sauce got so popular that Greg and Donna began bottling and selling it there, too. The first store to sell The Sauce was the former Apple Market in Paola, Kansas, in 1991.
It didn’t take long before The Sauce developed a reputation for being one of the best—not just in Kansas City but nationwide. In 1993, former U.S. Senator and presidential nominee Bob Dole purchased 84 bottles as Christmas presents. The Sauce is also a fan favorite of former Kansas City Chiefs head coach and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Dick Vermeil.
The Sauce comes in original and hot flavors and is currently sold in 18-ounce and half-gallon bottles in grocery stores and various businesses throughout Kansas City, Lawrence, and Wichita, Kansas.
“Its smooth, full-bodied tomato base marries Kansas City sweetness with complementary sour notes, hickory smoke and pepper. Truly lives up to the label—The Sauce.”
— Kansas City Barbecue Judge Ardie Davis
Our legacy
After 26 years, Hillsdale Bank Bar B-Q officially closed in the fall of 2015 due to the passing of Donna Beverlin. She was the face of the restaurant—the first person to greet customers with a big smile and a warm welcome. Her presence was irreplaceable.
Hillsdale Bank Bar B-Q was a family-run restaurant with a strong sense of community. Over the years, Greg and Donna talked about how much they loved building strong relationships with customers and employees. Many customers came in so routinely that their order was placed the second they walked through the door.
While the restaurant is no longer open, the legacy of Hillsdale Bank Bar B-Q lives on. Greg continues making The Sauce in the same bank building and lives by the same motto: “You work hard and stay honest, and good things will always come back to you.”
Photo credits: Harland J Schuster & Nathan Ham Photography