Red Barn (restaurant)
Red BarnThe Red Barn restaurant was a fast-food restaurant chain founded in 1961 in Springfield, Ohio, by Don Six, Martin Levine, and Jim Kirsch. In 1963, the small chain was purchased by Richard O. Kearns, and the offices moved briefly to Dayton, Ohio, followed by a move in August 1964 to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In the late 1960s, Servomation bought the company. The new parent company itself was bought by Motel 6 in the late 1970s. Only interested in the core business of Servomation, the new owners ceased advertising for the chain and the franchise leases were allowed to expire, with the last of the leases expiring around 1986. At its peak, Red Barn had 300-400 restaurants in 19 states, as well as outlets in southern Ontario, elsewhere in Canada, and Australia.
Following the shutdown of operations, most of the Red Barn buildings were converted for other uses. A few of the chain restaurants were renamed "The Farm" in various states and continued serving the same menu items available when they were under their Red Barn franchise. There were two locations under "The Farm" name in Racine, Wisconsin and Bradford, Pennsylvania that are serving the same menu items. The Bradford location closed for a brief period in 2014 from a small fire.
Currently, the Racine, Wisconsin is the only location that is still operating. The Bradford, Pennsylvania location closed its store in December of 2015.
Originally, the Red Barn restaurants were in the shape of barns with a glass front and limited seating. The design of the building was patented in 1962 by Red Barn Systems, Incorporated of Springfield, Ohio, which granted the franchise licenses. Later buildings had the familiar fast-food style mansard roof which allowed them to comply to more local building codes.
Some of the most popular items on Red Barn's menu were the "Big Barney" (a hamburger similar to a Big Mac) and the "Barnbuster" (similar to a Quarter Pounder or Whopper.)
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