Jack Fiorella and his father opened Fiorella’s Jack Stack at the Martin City location in 1974. When their father died in 1986, Carol and Diane ran the original site. (His son Alex has remained in the restaurant business working alongside his mother Leasa Caron, who owns Jovitos at 123 rd & State Line.) Russell opened a Smoke Stack in Liberty, MO. The restaurant, now called The Stack, has new ownership but most of the same offerings. Mary opened a Smoke Stack off 85 th and Wornall Rd, (now a Kentucky Fried Chicken) before moving it to 89 th and Wornall Rd. Some of the children followed in their father’s footsteps. Many in south Kansas City may remember the original Smoke Stack at 8129 Hickman Mills Dr. “Once he rebuilt, the business took hold,” says Diane.

In the late 60s, a pit fire burned down the restaurant. As a result of having no phone, long lines of customers would form down the sidewalk waiting to place an order. There were two things Russ did not permit on the premises, according to Diane. “He was never a stranger to anyone,” recalls daughter Diane Fiorella Marak who remembers him always sitting behind the register. Six years later, the family moved to larger quarters and the youngest, Diane, was soon born.Īnyone who met Russ knew him to be quite a character.

At the time, there were six children: Carmen, Jack, Nick, Mary, Russell and Carol. To help pay for the restaurant, he sold the seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom house in midtown Kansas City and moved the family into the second-floor apartment above the restaurant. He knew food.” Flora Fiorella stands before a mural of the original Smoke Stack where the family lived on the second floor. “He barbecued on the weekend with family. “He was a barbecue enthusiast,” says Case Dorman, CEO of Jack Stack Barbecue and married to Russ’ granddaughter Jennifer Fiorella. In the late 50s, as large grocery chains began to chase out the small grocer, Russ chose to follow his passion for barbecuing. Like his brothers, Russ ended up running a small neighborhood grocery store where he was also the butcher. Russ was one of 14 children who grew up in an Italian family in Kansas City. The Lucky Inn became Smoke Stack BBQ, now known as Jack Stack BBQ. But the purchase did prove to be lucky, not just for Russ and Flora, but for future generations. It was a surprise to everyone, especially his wife. While she was in labor, he quickly bought a roadhouse at 8129 Hickman Mills Dr. In 1957, Russ Fiorella dropped his pregnant wife, Flora, off at the hospital to give birth to their sixth child. Russ Fiorella started Smoke Stack Barbecue, off 71 Hwy, in 1957.įrom Smoke Stack to Jack Stack – The Fiorella Story

Jack stack barbecue