In 1949 Irene Evans opened the El Rancho Inn in St. Albans, Virginia, a small town 10 miles west of Charleston on U.S. Route 60, billing it a “Little of the West back East.” The El Rancho was so popular from the beginning that in 1950 Evans decided to expand it, and then, in 1952, she built a 125-seat restaurant right next to the inn, maintaining the western motif inside and out. In 1957 she expanded El Rancho once again, building a modern motel on the property.
All the while, Evans saw to it that the menu at the El Rancho Restaurant was several cuts above anything else in the area. The 1959 Thanksgiving menu, for example, featured Roast West Virginia Tom Turkey with Chestnut Dressing and Giblet Gravy ($2.25); Sliced Virginia Sugar-Cured Ham with Orange and Raisin Sauce ($2.45); Roast Prime Steer of Beef, Au Jus ($3.75); and a Combination Seafood Platter ($2.75). There was a choice of Lynnhaven Oyster Bisque or French Onion Soup, a relish tray, and ample offerings of sides, salads, and desserts.
In 1962 Evans married Dick Reid (born Richard H. Riedthaler), a radio and television star in Charleston. Soon after arriving at WKNA-TV (Channel 49) in 1951, Reid had developed a late-afternoon children’s show, The 49ers Club, that proved so popular that WCHS (Channel 8), a rival television station, lured him away before it went on the air in 1954. There Reid developed two immensely popular television shows—Lucky 8 Ranch for children and Dance Party for teenagers—and, in 1957, he created and began hosting Record Hop, a kind of West Virginia version of American Bandstand, the hugely popular television program hosted by Dick Clark. (In 1960 Reid even filled in for Clark at WFIL-TV in Philadelphia for ABC’s national broadcast of American Bandstand.)
In 1963 the Reids expanded the El Rancho Restaurant, adding three new dining areas—the Frontier, Thunderbird, and Patio Rooms—and bringing the total seating capacity to 325. They inaugurated Saturday night dinner dances featuring local bands in the Thunderbird Room, with Dick using the dances as the backdrop for a live radio show, and they hosted such special events as “Luau Nights” and “Chuck Wagon Buffets,” the latter with free pony rides for the “small cowboys and cowgirls.”
“When I was a kid, the El Rancho Motel and restaurant was one of the places to go for good food and fun,” recalls Jerry Waters, who maintains a website on the history of the Charleston area. “Everyone from celebrities to the state’s top brass visited the El Rancho. Part of the reason was Dick Reid’s live weekend broadcasts on WCHS radio. The show became so popular that there was always a waiting list to get in.”
In 1965 Dick left WCHS to help Irene run the El Rancho Restaurant and Motel, but the following year he fell ill and died after a three-week hospitalization. He was just 44 years old. Irene pushed forward, dubbing El Rancho “The Party Place” and introducing even more special events, such as a holiday-season “Joyland” with “our Popular Roast Beef Rodeo,” a “Bottomless Salad Bowl,” and, of course, an on-the-premises Santa Claus. But in 1970 Irene decided to sell the restaurant while continuing to run the motel, and soon the Rose City Cafeteria opened on the site of the El Rancho Restaurant at 2843 McCorkle Avenue. The cafeteria’s owner made sure that Irene would be part of the open-house ceremony, noting in a big newspaper ad that “she would love to greet her many friends and El Rancho guests that she has known over the years.” Just weeks later, however, a big fire swept through the kitchen of the Rose City Cafeteria, and it never reopened.
In future years the building would become home to the Kim Tiki Lounge and Restaurant, which served Polynesian and American food, and, much later, Flirts Nite Club.
Irene Evans Reid died in 2003 at age 85. She was the first woman ever elected to serve as the president of the Southern Innkeepers Association. Four years later Dick Reid was inducted into the West Virginia Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
Corn Pudding
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Loading...Corn pudding, a close cousin of old-fashioned spoon bread, is just about as comforting as comfort food gets. This version of the dish was for many years one of the most popular casserole-style sides at the El Rancho Restaurant in St. Albans, West Virginia.
Ingredients
- 4 cups cream-style sweet corn
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup butter, melted, plus more for greasing the baking dish
- Dash of salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter a 1-quart baking dish.
In a medium bowl, combine the cream-style corn, milk, beaten egg, melted butter, and salt. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and flour and then fold into the corn mixture.
Pour the corn mixture into the greased baking dish and bake until mixture is browned on top, about 45 minutes.
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