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Owners James "Jimmy" Adrian and Jack Piper are lifelong friends. Growing up in Burlington, Iowa they attended the same high school while their mothers worked together in a local factory.

Both spent the majority of their youth working in restaurants. They loved restaurants so much that even when they were not working, you could find them eating and drinking in one (quite often eating barbecue). Whatever city they found themselves working in (Dallas, New Orleans, Boulder), their first priority was to find the best local barbecue.

James and Jack moved back to Iowa in 2000 to open Atlas World Grill in Iowa City. During this time, they would frequently drive to Kansas City just to eat barbecue at such landmarks as Arthur Bryants, Gates, and Fiorella’s Jack Stack. Wanting to bring the award-winning style of barbecue they love to Iowa City, they became certified Kansas City Barbecue Society Judges, took more trips to famous barbecue restaurants, and started smoking ribs and making sauces. In June of 2005 they opened Jimmy Jack's Rib Shack and the rest is history.

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