“When the hungry hit, hit the Red Barn.”
In 1961, business partners Don Six, Martin Levine, and Jim Kirst founded the Red Barn restaurant chain in Springfield, Ohio. Just two years later, in 1963, the small chain was purchased by Richard Kearns. Operating as Red Barn Systems, the offices were briefly moved to Dayton, Ohio, and then finally to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1964.
During the late 1960s, the company was purchased by United Servomation. In 1978, Servomation merged with the City Investing Company, which also operated the Motel 6 chain. With fierce competition in the fast-food burger market, the owners elected to pull out of fast food altogether and stopped promoting the Red Barn restaurants. Franchise owners were allowed to dissolve their agreements, and by the late 1980s, most of the leases had expired.
Fast Food Expansion in the 1960s and 1970s
During the 1960s and 1970s, fast-food restaurant chains were exploding across the country, taking advantage of American car culture and popping up along major highways and byways. Some chains only managed to grow to a handful of restaurants, while others never expanded beyond certain regions of the country.
At its peak, Red Barn operated around 400 restaurants across the United States, with additional locations in Canada and Australia. All the restaurants were housed in unique barn-shaped structures with mansard roofs. This folksy architecture appealed to patrons in the Midwest while also serving as a uniquely memorable roadside attraction in other parts of the country.
These architectural remnants are among the last vestiges of a once-beloved fast-food chain.
Red Barn Menu and Advertising Characters
Competing against chains like McDonald’s, Burger Chef, Burger King, and Roy Rogers, Red Barn featured three main advertising characters: Hamburger Hungry, Chicken Hungry, and Big Fish Hungry.
The Red Barn could best be described as a fast-food diner with an unusually diverse menu. Along with burgers, the restaurant also served fish and fried chicken. The chain was also one of the first fast-food restaurants to offer an all-you-can-eat salad bar.
They even offered a full breakfast menu, which was uncommon at the time.
Two burgers on the menu directly competed with offerings from rival chains. The Barn Buster burger resembled the Whopper from Burger King and the Super Chef from Burger Chef. Another signature item was the Big Barney, made with two hamburger patties, cheese, and special sauce.
The Big Barney Burger Recreation
The Big Barney is especially interesting because its recipe appears to have varied from franchise to franchise. Former employees still debate the exact ingredients and assembly methods.
After researching the chain and joining a Facebook group dedicated to Red Barn nostalgia, the narrator found a recipe for the Big Barney complete with assembly instructions from a former cook. However, several former employees in the comments section argued about the ingredients, especially the special sauce.
Some claimed the sauce was specially prepared, while others insisted their restaurants simply used Kraft tartar sauce from large jars.
To recreate the burger, the ingredients included:
- Ground beef patties
- Lettuce
- Minced onion
- Plain hamburger buns
- American cheese
- Pickles
- Special sauce or tartar sauce
The patties were grilled quickly and seasoned with a salt, pepper, and onion blend. The burger was assembled using a three-piece bun structure similar to a Big Mac.
Discovering Former Red Barn Locations
Having lived in the Washington, DC area since 1987, the narrator remembered an old barn-shaped building in Fairfax, Virginia, that later turned out to be a former Red Barn location. After learning more about the chain, several additional former locations became noticeable across Northern Virginia and Maryland.
Some former Red Barn buildings still exist today:
- The Hyattsville, Maryland, location is now a laundromat.
- The Marlboro Pike location has been converted into a convenience store.
- The Marlow Heights building now operates as a chicken-and-waffles restaurant.
- A former Alexandria, Virginia, location is now home to a Mexican restaurant called Alfresco.
Inside some of these renovated buildings, traces of the original 1970s design still remain, including vintage tile flooring and recognizable architectural features.
Why Red Barn Disappeared
Many regional fast-food chains from the 1970s struggled to compete against rapidly expanding national brands. Unlike McDonald’s, which heavily standardized food production and menu consistency, Red Barn locations often relied on local suppliers and franchise operators.
As a result, the food was often made a little differently in each region, state, or city depending on the franchise owner and their local suppliers. Unlike McDonald’s, which later centralized everything to maintain consistency across all locations, Red Barn restaurants could vary from one franchise to the next, and that inconsistency may have played a role in the chain’s decline.
Even so, Red Barn remains a nostalgic memory for many people who grew up during the golden age of roadside fast-food restaurants in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, the surviving barn-shaped buildings and old commercials are some of the last reminders of a once-beloved fast-food chain.
