Our Philosophy
About Us
History, Family, Philosophy
June 28, 1960: The double doors of the now-fabled red barn swung wide, receiving the first guests of novice restaurateurs Thad Eure, Jr. and Charles Winston. What was this mysterious red building perched atop a hill so far from civilization? Unbeknownst to all, that June night many years ago, the southern gentlemen with no previous restaurant experience established both a landmark and a legend far outside of Raleigh where nobody else dared conceive success.
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. All guests experience what Thad Eure, Jr. 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. 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.
Back 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. 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 restaurants in the United States.
Thad Eure, Jr. (1932-1988)
As any person fortunate enough to know the late Thad will tell you, his life was not measured by the number of restaurants he founded but by the number of people’s lives he touched. He brought out the absolute best in everyone and regarded each person as his equal. A gentle giant of a man who stood 6’4” tall, his life and work led Restaurants & Institutions magazine to call Thad “larger than life.”
Alice Eure (1933-1997)
The next time your taste buds relish the Barn’s award-winning chocolate chess pie or our tangy barbecue sauce, you may thank the late Alice Eure. As your eyes rove through the Barn’s rustic Americana decor, you can bet a whole chocolate chess pie that Alice lovingly placed almost every furnishing. Every October, you may see thousands of walkers in the parking lot as they assemble to raise money and awareness for mental illness research and treatment. They are here because of the countless good works of Alice in her relatively short lifetime.
“Why do you do what you do?
With its weekends, holidays and late nights, I have been asked, Why is this the profession you have chosen?”
My Answer: I did not choose this profession…it chose me. I am – at heart – a teacher, an environmentalist, an animal lover, and a person who thrives on giving back. When life handed me a situation that literally threw me into the restaurant business, my dreams were put on hold (or so I thought) until I realized that all of my dreams could be fulfilled through this incredible institution called the Angus Barn.
I am honored to have been given the opportunity to carry on this restaurant that is steeped in old-fashioned values and traditions. There is something very special about a family business. If you’d asked me when I was 25 if I’d be doing this now, I would have said “You’re crazy!” But now, I wouldn’t have it any other way. As my dear friend and renowned restaurant consultant Malcolm Knapp so eloquently put it, “The Restaurant Business is Simple. Simple is Hard.”
