Ollie W. Gates is the President of
Gates Bar-B-Q – more familiar to Kansas City barbecue aficionados as just
“Gates BBQ.” Gates BBQ opened as Ol’ Kentucky Bar-BQ in 1946 at 19th and Vine.
It grew into a Family Restaurant (Gates first “ground up” restaurant) and then
“OG’s Complex (night club, restaurant and lounge), before settling into its
current day format.
Since 1970, Ollie Gates has been major
stockholder and President of the family-run organization. There are now six
restaurants in the Greater Kansas City area.
A native Kansas Citian, Gates
graduated in 1949 from Kansas City public schools and went on to college at
Maryland State College at Princess Anne, Maryland, finishing his college
education at Lincoln University, Jefferson City, MO. During his college years,
he began his restaurant career during summers and weekend trips home.
Gates served in the United States
Army, School of Engineering for two years, and returned to Kansas City to join
his family’s growing restaurant business. For over three decades, his
restaurant business has served as a backdrop to his many civic
commitments. These commitments include the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity,
Masonic Lodge, Shrine Temple, Bruce R. Watkins Foundation, Spirit of Freedom
Foundation, Enshriners, and City of Fountains. He served from 1979 – 1997
as President of the Kansas City board of Parks & Recreation. He is a
Commissioner on the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission, and serves
on the US Bank Board of Directors.
Gates’ list of awards is equally
impressive – ranging from Citizen of the Year, Executive of the Year,
Distinguished Service, Spirit of Kansas City, and the Velam E. Woodson
Outstanding leadership award from the NAACP. Gates has also won the Greater
Kansas City Business Hall of Fame award and Restaurateur of the Year from the
Missouri Restaurant Association.
Ollie Gates has joined Mariner Kemper
of United Missouri Bank as co-chair of the 2005 American Royal Barbecue.
