Red Barn

Former type	State incorporated
Fate	Franchise licenses were allowed to expire and stores were closed.
Founded	1962
Founder(s)	Harry Barmier
Defunct	mid 1980s
Headquarters	Dayton, Ohio, United States
Number of locations	Between 300-400 restaurants in 19 states at its peak. Locations in Canada and Australia as well.
Industry	Fast food chain restaurants

The Red Barn restaurant was a fast-food restaurant chain that was founded during the early-1960s in Dayton, Ohio by Harry Barmier. Servomation bought the company in the late-1960s and then Motel 6 bought it in the late-1970s. 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.

Following the shutdown of operations, most of the Red Barn buildings were converted for other uses. A few of the chain restraunts were renamed "The Farm" in various states and continued serving the same menu items that were available when they were under their Red Barn franchise. At its peak, Red Barn had 300-400 restaurants in 19 states as well as outlets in Southern Ontario, Canada and Australia. ^[1]

[edit] Building style

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, Incorportated of Springfield, Ohio who granted the franchise licenses.^[2] Later buildings had the familiar fast-food style mansard roof which allowed them to comply to more local building codes.

A former Red Barn location in Mississauga, Ontario, now a Mr. Sub restaurant.

[edit] Menu items

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.)^[3]

The chain was quite forward-looking with their food choices; the Big Barney predated the Big Mac by a few years, they were the first chain to have self-service salad bars. Chicken and fish were fried in pure vegetable oil (in dedicated fryers); fries and rings in a 60% vegetable oil, 40% lard mix for extra flavor.

[edit] Advertising and promotions

The restaurant chain had a TV commercial jingle whose lyrics were: "When the hungries hit / When the hungries hit / Hit the Red Barn." Three mascots were used in the franchise's commercials: "Hamburger Hungry" (who looked similar to Ernie from Sesame Street), "Fried Chicken Hungry" (a chicken leg) and "Big Fish Hungry" (a blue fish.)^[4][5]

The restaurants had coloring books, crayons and iron-ons for kids, and they also gave away a free glass with a meal. The food was served in cardboard barn-shaped boxes.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Red Barn information at Barnbuster.net