Red Barn

Who doesn’t remember the Red Barn on St. Barnabas Road at Temple Hill Road ? Most of us who lived in the area ate there. It was one of our favorite stops on the way home from school, church, shopping, etc., and the food was fantastic. It was, like Jr. Hot Shoppes, also a hangout for teenagers to find out where parties and other get togethers were being held. I also remember someone used to park their privately owned hearse there. I\’m sure the manager at Red Barn didn\’t think that was too good for business!

I worked at the Red Barn (which we used to call the, “Dead Barn”) briefly during the summer of 1972, cutting grass, hosing down the parking lot, and picking up cigarette butts. I left when I found out Jr. Hot Shoppes in front of Iverson Mall was hiring, was paying a nickel more an hour, and I’d actually be flipping burgers and frying chicken. Woo-Hoo! The first business to go in next to the Red Barn (both actually opened at around the same time of the late 60s) was the Heap Big Beef, a franchise based out of the midwest that offered great roast beef sandwiches. Unfortunately it just couldn’t compete against the Red Barn, nor did any other restaurants that opened in the same spot. Red Barn had a grand opening, and Ranger Hal was there. Their fried chicken was unique in that it had a piece called the, “keel”, which was part of the breast but much smaller and without the rib bones. Although all Red Barns closed for good by the 90s, a couple remain in operation today, but calling themselves, “The Farm”, instead. One is in Racine, Wisconsin (which I’ve been to), and the other is in Bradford, Pennsylvania. But back in the 1960s and 1970s of Marlow Heights and vicinity, we were all “Hamburger Hungries!”.

Remember this? “When the hungries hit, when the hungries hit, hit the Red Barn!” Be sure to visit the official Red Barn tribute site at barnbuster.net !