Later Eure recalled that although he appreciated his kitchen staff, he did not realize how much he valued their opinions until the dish washing disaster. When the first Saturday night crowd in 1960 produced a mountain of dishes, the dishwashers walked off the job, leaving the young couples to clean dishes from late Saturday night through sunrise on Sunday. If experience is the best teacher, the young restaurateurs had much to learn. No task was too menial, no goal too daunting for the young couples. The Angus Barn owners and their wives, Alice and Flo, poured their energies and time into planning every detail of the restaurant. In good faith, the senior Eure mortgaged his home to guarantee the loan, proclaiming, “I believe in those boys!” Construction began immediately. Finally in desperation, Eure turned to his father, the late North Carolina Secretary of State Thad Eure, Sr., for the majority of the capital. Bank after bank declined Eure and Winston, politely referring to their venture as “impossible” and “a poor risk.” Borrowing from every person who had a modicum of faith in them, Eure and Winston raised money. Who would dare extend credit of that amount to two young dreamers whose dreams far exceeded their limited assets? Acquiring the necessary capital to pay for construction challenged the young hopefuls. The original restaurant seated 275 and cost approximately $200,000 to build. Thankfully guests who traveled the distance paid far less attention to the distance and much more to the memories they made. The Barn was built 12 years before bustling Crabtree Valley Mall existed. In fact, the area where the Barn exists was so desolate that Highway 70 was merely a two-lane road with phones stationed every few miles. Although it is hard to fathom today, in 1960 RDU International Airport was little more than a landing strip where fewer than 20 flights arrived and departed each day. The pastoral setting originally believed by many to be misguided, halfway between Raleigh and Durham, proved critics wrong because it was convenient for business people who needed access to what would become Research Triangle Park and Raleigh-Durham International Airport. In 1959, Eure and Winston bought 50 acres of land on Highway 70 for $6,750. ![]() Today the Barn serves an average of 22,000 steaks per month, but the menu also features poultry, seafood and pasta. And so began the Angus Barn’s longstanding tradition of serving the best aged western beef available. In 1960, as Eure and Winston envisioned their restaurant, consensus suggested that a steak-and-potato-based menu was what the public wanted. Through its trials and triumphs, multitudes of loyal guests have made the Angus Barn one of the nation’s 50 highest-grossing independent restaurants, consistently ranked as one of the 100 best restaurantsĪlthough still famous as a “Beef-eaters Haven,” the menu of the Barn has expanded to meet the dietary demands of even the most discerning, nutrition-conscious guests. ![]() ![]() Now owned and operated by Van Eure, daughter of the late Thad Eure, Jr., and staffed by a loyal, hardworking team, many of whom have built their careers here, the double doors of the Barn open 363 evenings a year.īack in the day when the Barn was an outpost far from the familiar neighborhoods of Raleigh, nightly crowds who traveled the distance kindly forgave many honest mistakes including the initial absence of watering stations. ![]() and Charles Winston originally envisioned: incomparable hospitality excellent value a meal of impeccable quality and the rich, rustic Americana ambiance for which the Barn is now known across the globe. All guests experience what Thad Eure, Jr. Since June of 1960, some 21,000 nights and 14,000,000 guests later, generations continue to make the Angus Barn, affectionately nicknamed “Big Red” by Thad, Jr., a cherished part of their lives.
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