Back in 1898, Denver was set to host a free barbecue event for the city to celebrate the end of the National Stock Growers’ convention. That event, however, didn’t go as planned, sending the city into chaos after a crowd of 30,000 people showed up to get their hands on some grub.

According to a report from Denver Public Library, top meats to be served at the barbecue were slow-cooked buffalo (bison) and beef, with other options including bear, mutton, and possum. Preparation for the event started a day early on January 27, with the crowds invited to join the following day.

While the barbecue event was meant for about 5,000 people – mostly VIPs of the stock show – around 30,000 people clamored into the Union Pacific Stockyard area on January 28. As might be expected, managing the hungry crowd amid a lack of food proved difficult. Eventually, chaos broke out when a rope used to keep people from forcing themselves into the barbecue too quickly failed, resulting in a flood of attendees rushing forward.

The situation got worse thanks to the fact that the rope being used to manage crowds was tied to a table being used for the event. The rope got tangled in the mix of people rushing in, causing the table to collapse. To make matters worse, attendees ignored requests to quickly grab their fair share of food and move on, leading to the destruction of the area meant for serving.

Food was flung through the air as some collected large quantities of meat that fell to the ground while others took possession of unopened barrels of beer. On top of that, many items were outright stolen, including 2,000 tin cups, 1,000 steel eating utensils, 100 cleavers, hatchets, and carvers, and more.

Local media at the time pinned poor planning and the distribution of tickets for attendance in the city’s slums as key reasons for the event’s failure.

The Denver Library article includes the following quote:

“The game fields of the West were ransacked to secure material for a menu such as kings might rejoice at; the viands were cooked after the manner that has made cooking an art and the result turned over to be fought for by hoodlums who would consider pork and beans—and beer—a delicacy.”

On top of the damages and theft related to the barbecue event, a man is also said to have died in a bar fight at a nearby saloon, falling and breaking his neck on the foot rail of a bar.

An often-overlooked moment in Mile High City history, the barbecue riot of 1898 is a bizarre example of what can happen when mob mentality takes over an unruly crowd.

Looking to try some good barbecue in Denver in 2025? RIOT BBQ seems to be all the rage these days, with a 4.7-star rating on Google Reviews.

Read more about this event and see photos from the day on the Denver Library website.