Barbecue may fire up in different location
Staff writer
Although work on a downtown Marion building planned to house a barbecue restaurant is paused, its owners still plan to open the doors. It just might be in a different location.
Megan and Daryl Jones, who live in Olathe, own the building at 301 E. Main St. and have been working to renovate it for several months.
Because of higher costs and delays in getting needed supplies, the Joneses have put renovation on hold so they can consider options and decide when to move forward — and what direction to move.
“We’re still running into hiccups with costs of construction,” Megan Jones said. “We’ve just kind of taken a pause to think about things.”
Megan Jones said the couple was looking at an assortment of potential scenarios and she wasn’t ready to say where they might open the doors.
“We’ve been waiting for everything to fall into place,” she said.
Among the possibilities might be other restaurants that recently closed, including the format Pizza Hut and Edward’s location on US-56.
Their commitment to Marion remains strong.
“We just bought a house in town and are doing some renovation work,” she said. “We plan to move next summer.”
The Joneses take catering orders and have “pop-up” events where they sell menu items so Marion residents get a taste of things to come.
She is a 2004 graduate of Marion High School. He grew up in Wichita.
Bill and Essie’s menu will use recipes inspired by his family, which Daryl has tweaked to make his own.
The Joneses got a $250,000 community development block grant to renovate the downtown building. What will happen if the couple doesn’t finish the renovation is unknown.