TV Restaurants

What Happened to BBQ Shack After Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives? (Paola, KS)

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 23 Paola, Kansas

Current status

Closed

As of October 2026, BBQ Shack has closed — confirmed via Yelp, August 2026.

What the source shows: A Yelp listing updated 2026-08 marks the Paola restaurant location as permanently closed, and a food-truck operator profile confirms the business shifted to mobile service. How we decide a status →

What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives? 2 episodes

Part 1 — Season 23, Episode 15 Aired

The 'Amazing Appetizers' episode (aired 2015-10-23) revisited BBQ Shack, a barbecue spot Guy Fieri first featured in a 2007 episode. According to Passing Thru, the shack's Atomic Buffalo Turds -- jalapenos stuffed with smoked chicken or water chestnuts and cream cheese, then wrapped in bacon -- and its deep-fried corn nuggets were among the appetizers that earned it a spot on the show.

Part 2 — Season 2, Episode 6 Aired

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured The BBQ Shack in the "Real Deal BBQ" episode, which aired 2007-11-05. The BBQ Shack began in Paola, Kansas, in 1997 smoking chicken wings for a local parade, and became a sit-down restaurant in 2006, according to Roaming Hunger's business profile. The restaurant was also featured in the 2009 book "America's Best BBQ Joints," according to that same profile. A Yelp business listing for the East Peoria Street location, updated 2026-08, marks the restaurant permanently closed. Roaming Hunger's profile separately states the business gave up its restaurant lease and moved its barbecue, including St. Louis-style ribs and burnt ends, onto a food truck serving the Kansas City area. this check treats the brick-and-mortar restaurant as closed while noting the business name continues to operate as a mobile food truck.

The episodes Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Episode 15
Aired
Title: Amazing Appetizers · What was featured: Atomic Buffalo Turds jalapeño poppers and fried corn nuggets appetizers
Season 2, Episode 6
Aired
Title: Real Deal BBQ · What was featured: St. Louis-style ribs, brisket burnt ends, and smoked wings
How Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives restaurants have fared: 27% closed →

Also in Season 23 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Season 23: 49 of 75 still open

All 18 Season 23 episodes →

Nearest open restaurants By distance from 1613 East Peoria Street

  • Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que

    Olathe, KS 24 mi away

    Best Thing I Ever Ate

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  • Jess and Jim's Steakhouse

    Kansas City, MO 26 mi away

    Food Paradise

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  • Blue Koi

    Leawood, KS 28 mi away

    Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

    Relocated

  • The Upper Crust

    Overland Park, KS 30 mi away

    Best Thing I Ever Ate

    Open

  • BB's Lawnside BBQ

    Kansas City, MO 32 mi away

    Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

    Open

  • RJ's Bob-Be-Que Shack

    Mission, KS 33 mi away

    Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

    Open
All 19 TV restaurants in Kansas →

Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 4 references

  1. passingthru.com https://passingthru.com/kansas-city-style-barbecue-the-bbq-shack/
  2. dinersdriveinsdiveslocations.com https://www.dinersdriveinsdiveslocations.com/bbq-shack-kansas.html
  3. Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-bbq-shack-paola
  4. roaminghunger.com https://roaminghunger.com/the-bbq-shack-llc/
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Record ddd-0055 · checked by Cal Marchetti.