3810 Durand Avenue (Racine, Wisconsin)
| 3810 Durand Avenue | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Restaurant building |
| Location | 3810 Durand Avenue Racine, Wisconsin |
| Coordinates | 42°41′50″N 87°49′30″W / 42.69713°N 87.82513°WCoordinates: 42°41′50″N 87°49′30″W / 42.69713°N 87.82513°W |
| Construction started | October 1967 |
| Opened | February 16, 1968 |
| Owner | Carolyn Spolar[1] |
| Design and construction | |
| Developer | Red Barn System, Inc.[1] |
3810 Durand Avenue is a restaurant building on Durand Avenue in Racine, Wisconsin. The barn-like building was originally constructed for a location in the Red Barn chain of farm-themed restaurants which opened in 1968. The restaurant broke from the chain in 1983, and began operating independently as The Farm. In 2020, The Farm closed, and was replaced by Burgers, Custard & More.
History[edit | edit source]
Red Barn/The Farm (1968–2020)[edit | edit source]
By 1967, the land was owned by the Mobil Oil Company. On August 4, 1967, the property was sold to Red Barn System, Inc.[1] Construction of the barn-shaped building was underway in October 1967,[2] and the restaurant's formal opening was held on February 16, 1968. The restaurant was franchised by Eugene Spolar, who had previously opened a Red Barn franchise at 5915 39th Avenue in Kenosha in 1966.[3]
In addition to the chain's standard menu that included hamburgers, chicken, and fish, Spolar added frozen custard ice cream in early 1982. The restaurant became the only one in the chain to offer custard ice cream. In December 1982, Spolar ended the location's franchise agreement with Red Barn.[4] On December 9, ownership of the building was transferred to him from Stanco Properties.[1] On June 1, 1983, the restaurant was renamed The Farm, as it joined a buying group of 23 former Red Barn franchises which had taken on that name.[5] With the name change, The Farm also began serving baked potatoes and potato skins. Spolar continued to make additions to the menu, adding cod fish nuggets in November 1983 and barbecue ribs in spring 1984.[4]
In January 1991, Eugene and Carol Spolar sold the business to Wolfgang and Patricia Esser, while retaining ownership of the building.[6] In December of that year, the restaurant changed hands again when it was sold to David and Sue Ellingham.[7]
As a result of the Great Recession 
in the late 2000s, the restaurant began to be open on Sundays. Ellingham also made items to order instead of preparing them ahead of time.[8][9] On its website, The Farm described itself as possibly being "the last of its kind".[10]
The Farm permanently closed on February 2, 2020.[9]
Burgers, Custard & More (2020–present)[edit | edit source]
On October 14, 2020, Burgers, Custard & More, known as "BC's" for short, opened in the building. BC's is owned by the same operators as the Dogs & Cream restaurant at 2721 Douglas Avenue: Perla Cabrera and Eric and Maggie Robinson.[11]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Property Information: "3810 DURAND AVE", cityofracine.org
- ↑ "Business News", Racine Journal Times, October 24, 1967, page 6B.
- ↑ "Opening Friday", Racine Journal Times, February 15, 1968, page 5D.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Donahue, Kelly. "Ummmmm... Their custard cones are good", Racine Journal Times, August 28, 1983, page 1C.
- ↑ Pfankuchen, David. "Business bits", Racine Journal Times, July 19, 1983, page 1D.
- ↑ Merisalo, Laura J. "Local restaurant changes hands: Spolars sell The Farm", Racine Journal Times, January 11, 1991, page 4B.
- ↑ "The Farm restaurant sold", Racine Journal Times, December 17, 1991, page 2D.
- ↑ Burke, Michael. "Keeping it fresh at The Farm since 1991", Racine Journal Times, January 16, 2017.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Burke, Michael. "The Farm diner has closed, gone out to pasture", Racine Journal Times, February 27, 2020.
- ↑ The Farm official website, archived September 7, 2019 at the WayBack Machine .
- ↑ Johnson, Eric. "Burgers, Custard & More makes its debut: Fast-and-fresh concept restaurant opens on Durand Avenue", Racine Journal Times, November 1, 2020.
External links[edit | edit source]
- 3810 Durand Avenue
on OpenStreetMap - The Farm official website, archived September 7, 2019 at the WayBack Machine
- Property Record: 3810 Durand Ave, Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, Wisconsin Historical Society
