 Perry was born in Shelby County, Tennessee near Memphis and worked on steamboat restaurants on the Mississippi River and Missouri River before moving to Kansas City, Missouri in 1907.In 1908 he began serving smoked meats to workers in the Garment District in Downtown Kansas City from an alley stand.He then moved his stand, "Perry's Barbecue", to 17th and Lydia in the inner city neighborhood of 18th Street and Vine.