Tucson is getting a new barbecue restaurant July 4 that has a familiar name.
Mr. K's Barbeque, long a staple on the south side, will open in the former Chili's near Tucson Mall.
It is a venture between Mr. K's founder Charles Kendrick, his daughter Rhonda and longtime friend and restaurateur John Foster. Another partner is Steve Sargent, the chef at Foster's restaurant Mays Counter on East Speedway.
The original south-side Mr. K's BBQ, which Kendrick opened in 1998 in a building that also houses his Afro-American Museum, is owned by Kendrick's son Ray. It will remain open, but it likely will be under a new name, Ray Kendrick said.
The new Mr. K's will use the recipes that have been in Kendrick's family more than 100 years and build on the original menu. Foster said it will offer a bigger selection of meats and sides, with entrees running $8 to $15.
Foster said the 5,997-square-foot restaurant will be decorated with photos of Kendrick, whose legacy in Tucson includes being the first African-American man to graduate from the University of Arizona pharmacy school. He bought the building on South Park Avenue initially to open his own pharmacy, but when he couldn't get a business loan, he became a pharmacist at the former Kino Community Hospital, where he worked for 40 years.
Kendrick, 80, also ran a grocery store for several years and was active in the African-American community, encouraging people to register to vote and speaking out for education. He opened his museum in the late 1990s with Shad "Standman" Blair.
"This whole restaurant is about Mr. K," said Foster, who has known the family since he was a child growing up in the same west-side neighborhood. "His photo from when he graduated from the UA โฆ will be on the wall. We'll have stuff from his Afro-American Museum."
Rhonda Kendrick said her father had long dreamed of taking his family's barbecue to a bigger audience. Six months ago, at her father's urging, she reached out to Foster and got the ball rolling.
"I just want to see him enjoy his final chapters in this restaurant that's a tribute to him," she said. "The food is amazing, but my dad is this little character."
Foster said Kendrick will be the face of the restaurant, appearing in TV commercials and greeting customers.
But the restaurant's overriding mission is to advance Kendrick's barbecue, which Foster said is the closest thing Tucson has to a signature barbecue.
"We're establishing Tucson barbecue. There is such a thing, it's just that people don't know about it," Foster said. "It is Mr. K's."
Foster said the restaurant will have counter service where customers "walk up, they cut the meat in front of you, you pick your sides and pay."
This is Foster's second restaurant. Nine months ago, the longtime restaurant designer opened Mays Counter Chicken and Waffles at 2945 E. Speedway with Arizona celebrity chef Aaron May.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@azstarnet.com or 573-4642.
