KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The news of a Buffalo radio station asking grocery stores to pull KC barbecue sauce ahead of the AFC Championship quickly went viral.
Joe Dash, the CEO and Owner of Dash’s Markets, is a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan. He quickly decided to heed the call, removing KC Masterpiece sauce from the shelves.
“We have a little sign saying we’re taking down the barbecue sauce so the Bills can take down the Chiefs at the big game,” Dash said in a Zoom interview Friday.
What started as a fun prank to play up the rivalry is now turning into something positive for both Kansas City and Buffalo.
KC Masterpiece announced it will donate a total of $5,000 and 5,000 bottles of sauce to Harvesters-The Community Food Network and FeedMore WNY in Buffalo.
“When we heard the hilarious news of our sauces being removed from store shelves in Buffalo, albeit temporarily, we saw a great opportunity to serve both communities while encouraging football fans to do the same,” Peddy Khatami, Director of Sales Planning for KC Masterpiece, said.
The company teamed up with Drew Cerza, the man known as Buffalo’s “Wing King,” to create a Gofundme pagewith a goal of raising $100,000 for food banks in Kansas City and Buffalo.
"What a fun way to encourage football fans in Kansas City and Buffalo about this weekend's big game," said Valerie Nicholson-Watson, Harvesters' President and CEO.
"It is very generous of KC Masterpiece to turn this original removal of their product from Buffalo store shelves into a donation and movement to give back to those at risk of hunger in both Kansas City and Buffalo. We encourage Chiefs Kingdom and Kansas City barbecue fans to rise to the challenge and help their neighbors in need," she added.
Meanwhile, Dash is thrilled to see something good come out of the sauce ban, and he wants Chiefs fans to know this is all in good fun.
“Western New Yorkers, people from Buffalo have the utmost respect for the Chiefs and the Kansas City fans,” Dash said, “Great fan bases who are into their teams and support them wholeheartedly.”