This week Flashback Friday visits a longtime Raleigh dining institution — the Angus Barn. Perched on a hillock overlooking US 70 near the Raleigh-Durham Airport, the landmark restaurant has sated the appetites of local ‘beefeaters’ since 1960.

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ANGUS BARN — “Beefeaters Haven”
Located midway between Raleigh and Durham on US 70 the Angus Barn caters to Beefeating and Seafood Gourmets. USDA Choice and Prime Angus steer beef is cooked over large charcoal pits before the eyes of the customers. Fresh seafood is brought in daily. Stalls, stables and a spacious loft, all rustically appointed, fulfill the every need of individual diners or group parties of various sizes.

Winner
“Total Design Award”
Institutions Magazine

Institutions magazine, later Restaurants and Institutions magazine, began as a restaurant trade publication in 1937. R&I‘s typical content included food trends, menu development ideas, new products and also ranked the country’s top 400 restaurants each year. The magazine folded in 2010.

Below are two photochrome postcards in the Flashback Friday collection which depict the interior of the Angus Barn as it appeared in the 1960s.

Patrons Waiting in the Lobby (“Ektacolor” by Photographic Associates, Raleigh)

In the 1960s, the Angus Barn’s ‘rustically appointed’ interiors were as much a draw for restaurant patrons as were the steaks and seafood the restaurant specialized in. I love the uniforms sported by the waitresses of that era — red and white checked outfit with a frilly white apron, all topped off by a saucy miniature red and white checked chef’s hat.

The “Loft” Dining Room (“Ektacolor” by Photographic Associates, Raleigh)

A “Beefeaters Haven” on the Highway Near the Airport

Business partners Thad Eure, Jr. and Charles Winston, both of whom had no previous restaurant experience, opened the Angus Barn on June 28, 1960. The Angus Barn was the first major Raleigh restaurant to open outside the downtown area (in the ‘boondocks,’ really, at that time) and it was Raleigh’s first ‘theme-focused’ restaurant — in this case using an overt Western theme with ‘rustic appointments’ to showcase its specialty menu item, western Angus beef.

Eure and Winston’s innovative vision was an immediate success, and the Angus Barn “barn-stormed” Raleigh as a major competitor on the local restaurant scene.

State Archives of North Carolina photo

This is how the Angus Barn appeared soon after its opening in 1960. Incredibly, the trademark windmill and that massive oak tree are still there! The view below shows the restaurant as one would see it upon leaving the airport and heading toward Raleigh. 

State Archives of North Carolina photo

Disaster struck the Angus Barn in February,1964 when the popular restaurant burned to the ground. Only the windmill and the massive andirons in the lobby fireplace survived.

Photo courtesy Angus Barn

Eure and Winston wasted no time in rebuilding their iconic landmark. The replacement building was much larger than the original, and could accommodate twice as many guests. Interiors were designed by Alice Eure, Thad Jr.’s wife. The finished project was later awarded the Superlative Achievement Award by Institutions magazine.

While still living up to its reputation as a “beefeaters haven,” the Angus Barn has expanded its scope and vision over the decades. Not only has the reach of its menu matured, but its physical plant has grown, as well — with additional dining rooms, cocktail lounges, a wine cellar and, in 2008, The Pavilion, an elegant lakeside dining retreat and event venue.

Although the restaurant is still traditionally ‘rustically appointed,’ the wagon wheel chandeliers and mounted muskets were given up years ago.

Now operated by restaurateur Van Eure, Thad Jr. and Alice Eure’s daughter, the Angus Barn enjoys nationwide recognition as a fine dining destination, and has truly become a Raleigh gustatory legend. And, the original windmill and massive oak are still there.

Photo courtesy Angus Barn

Our photochrome postcards this week were printed locally under the trademark ‘Ektacolor.’

Photochrome (aka Chrome)

In 1936 the development of new color inks, combined with the introduction of the first high quality, multi layered film, Kodachrome introduced process printing of color photographs. For the first time color-separated halftone negatives could be made for CYM (blue, yellow, red) hues with the aid of process cameras. When printed these three plates would render an image in better natural color than ever before. Black would be added to the pallet as a fourth color (CYMK), but it was not consistently used at first.

Postcards started to be produced through process printing almost immediately, but by the late 1940s photochromes were in high competition with linen cards and have monopolized production since the mid 1950s. These modern types of tricolor postcards that evolved from their earlier versions are now what is meant when referring to a photochrome or simply chrome for short. Their quality has increased over the years with advancements in film and offset lithography.

 

“Flashback Friday” is a weekly feature of Goodnight, Raleigh! in which we showcase vintage postcards depicting our historic capital city. We hope you enjoy this week end treat!