The other day, longtime reader/1971 Staples High School graduate Fred Cantor was looking for photos to illustrate his “06880” ode to the Merritt Parkway.
He stumbled on this ad for the Red Barn restaurant — a longtime meeting spto for friends from other towns, just off Merritt Exit 41 — from the December 8, 1957 Sunday Herald:
Fred wonders: Were “maids” commonplace in Westport in the 1950s?
He was intrigued at the “air-conditioned” promotion (in December!). He writes: “I suppose AC was not so common in homes back then (and possibly not even in restaurants).”
He also asks, “What does ‘Member credit card plans’ mean?”
Fred notes that in 1957, $2.95 was the equivalent of $32.75 today. So, he says, “that dinner offer of appetizer, entrée, dessert and beverage was a pretty good deal.
Finally, he says, proprietors Harry and Dorothy Davega owned the Red Barn for many years. He wonders if any “06880” readers have memories of them.
A painting of the historic Red Barn property …
… and a photo by Lynn Untermeyer Miller.
(Friday Flashback is one of “06880”‘s many regular features. If you enjoy this — or anything else on our website — please consider a tax-deductible contribution. Just click here. Thank you!)
That’s a wonderful photo by Lynn. It looks almost like a painting.
The visual above Lynn’s was used on Red Barn postcards way back in the day. The back of the postcard noted that it was a watercolor by Sascha Maurer. The back of the postcard also promoted the Red Barn’s “Delicious Cocktails.”
Back in those days, at least on weekends, the vast majority of their patrons came from Westchester County and NYC. Same for Allens Clam House. Perhaps they were trying to stir up some business from locals. Westport was half woods and fields back then.
“Fred wonders: Were “maids” commonplace in Westport in the 1950s?”
Yes, that was the term commonly used for female housekeeping employees.
“He was intrigued at the “air-conditioned” promotion (in December!). He writes: “I suppose AC was not so common in homes back then (and possibly not even in restaurants).”
And yes, AC was about like color TV as a technological innovation.
“He also asks, “What does ‘Member credit card plans’ mean?”
Diners’ Club and American Express were both structured or at least branded a a members only deal.
Diners’ Club and American Express members were typically people with maids and AC.
I remember the Red Barn was the restaurant to which my parents would take special friends or relatives. It was always a treat to go there. As I recall, people would come to Westport and the Red Barn specifically for not just the roast beef, but also the sticky buns. Does that sound familiar to anyone?
I loved the salad dressing from the Arrow and when I went to the Red Barn, they made it for me as a favor.
Dan, I wonder if you have any information about farm whose barn became the restaurant? My close friend Lucy Lees (Staples 1958) married Don Draves (Staples 1953) and according to Don, the Red Barn was the barn on Don’s grandfather’s farm, a very extensive property at one time.
Ah, yes, you wrote in 2021: According to the Historic District Commission Historic Resources Inventory list, the building was built around 1850 as the Augustus Draves Barn. In the 20th century it became the Red Barn restaurant.
Great place to take clients. Excellent food very friendly and competent service nice wine selection and Tablecloths‼️ It had a family vibe and the two levels were interesting.
Soon all my Westport memories will be a painting or a photograph 😪
Wow! Thanks Jane! Probably six to eight times a year my parents would take me there and the memory of roast beef, kids cut, and sticky buns were a very happy memory!
Tom, I think you’re related to the family that lived on Bauer Place.
My parents often took us to the Red Barn for Sunday lunch. That was back in the 50s. The last time the whole big family was there together was1996 for my parents’ 50th anniversary.
And yes, Jane, I remember the sticky buns!
Sharon McCarthy Staples ’66
My parents preferred the Three Bears but we used to go there sometimes for Thanksgiving because my mother couldn’t cook worth a lick. Great spread. The owners of the Arrow took it over when it was on its last legs. I think it would make a good day care center now if the YMCA would so chose? Right off the Merritt and just drop your kid off. Beats 10K+ for Hillspoint.
Also to note the phone number was “Capital 7”, which my dad taught me translated to “227”.
So, I guess if you had a maid and gave her a night off and didn’t want to cook yourself, you went to the Red Barn?
It’s hard to convey just how much the innate warmth of the Nistico family contributed to the quality of life in Westport.
An iconic family who, among other things, provided job opportunities for Westport kids way back including my brother, who worked at the Arrow, and myself. Lou helped pave the way for my first job in high school—at Longshore.
I loved the Red Barn and the Three Bears — real “New England Country” restaurants. Although Westport now has many interesting places to dine, including gourmet, ethnic and exotic cuisine, no one will remember them in a few years as these two are.
Frank Nistico graduated in the Staples class of 1936, along with my father, and Diane Silfin’s mother. I have the yearbook with their signatures. I remember Frank and Lou Nistico’s mother from the mid 1950s.
I think we have all forgotten that the Red Barn is now owned by the Westport/Weston YMCA. I’ve been trying for years to find out what they intend to do with the property and have never received an answer. I’ve even written a post on 06880 identifying the history and the fact that the YMCA purchase the property. If anyone of those that wrote into this feature and are on the YMCA board – perhaps they can ask the question as to what will happen to the iconic and historic building.
I met the man who was to become my husband and the father of our 4 children in 1954..He was Yale1945,Harvard Law 1949 and just finishing a 3 year stint in the U.S.Army I was 18 and entering my junior year at Skidmore and not very worldly….and there was a fairly large age difference between us It was at the height of the foliage season in Connecticut..it was cool but sunny and this was our first date.
He told me to wear a cashmere sweater,a grey flannel skirt,a string of pearls and to bring my camels hair coat…we were going to visit his old Alma mater in New Haven It was an absolutely gorgeous drive up the Merritt..we bantered easily and started falling in love.
On the way back from Yale we stopped for dinner at “The Red Barn” …it was very romantic with a roaring fire in the fireplace where we sat having drinks..a white coated “butler”( sorry..it was the early 50s) served us hors d’oeuvres..I don’t remember what we ate…it was way before the Nisticos and the menu was very all American…no fusion in sight.
We married in 1995…. In 1962 during my 4 th pregnancy we moved to Westport where we raised our 4 children in a small house on a cul de sac with 12 houses and where I still live.
I would love to say that we lived happily ever after..we didn’t and divorced after 20 years.
But” The Red Barn” on that gorgeous October day was very much a part of what had been our love story…I always feel a twinge of sadness when I see how that one time romantic restaurant fell into such disrepair…haven’t seen it in many years…is it still there?