It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Mike Zarda. Mike passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Sunday, June 2, 2019, after a brief illness. Mike was one of Zarda Bar-B-Q’s founding brothers and will be missed immensely.
Throughout the years, Mike acted as not just an employer, but most importantly, a mentor to many employees. He went out of his way to show an abundance of love and compassion towards his employees. He always felt his employees were an extension of his family and treated them as such.
Mike graduated from St. Joseph Catholic High School in 1965 and served in the Army National Guard. After leaving the military, Mike worked tirelessly alongside his Dad and brothers at a variety of hamburger stands, car washes and real estate, but always held on to the dream of owning and operating a BBQ restaurant.
Once Mike had the support of his brother Jerry, his dream came to light and Zarda BBQ was born. Michaels’ brother Steve later joined Zarda BBQ and together the Zarda brothers have successfully operated our Blue Springs and Lenexa locations for almost 43 years.
A visitation will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 11311 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, KS 66203 on Friday, June 7th from 1:00 to 2:00 PM. Mass of Christian Burial will immediately follow at 2:00 PM. Burial at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Shawnee, KS.
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Zarda BBQ in Blue Springs will be closed on Friday, June 7th, 2019 to allow employees to attend the services.