In 1943 Marge and Bill Fowler bought a large ranch in Carlsbad, New Mexico, that had been built in 1918, six years after New Mexico became a state. The ranch, directly north of the La Huerta Bridge, was owned by C.A. Pierce, the general superintendent of the U.S. Potash Company, whose pioneering work had helped to make Carlsbad “the potash capital of the United States.” In 1941 Piece had built a red barn and stables on his ranch so large that during the early years of World War II pilots used it as a landmark, and it was mostly that feature that led the Fowlers to buy the property in 1943.
Several years later the Fowlers took over the Arrowhead Drive-In, a popular counter- and curb-service spot across from Carlsbad High School, but they were forced to go to court when the owner, Soda McLaughlin, tried to terminate their lease so that he could sell the restaurant for a higher price than the Fowlers were willing to pay. “Used to be where a landlord tried to keep a tenant in a building,” the Judge James B. McGhee said in ruling for the Fowlers. “Now it is where he is trying to get him out.”
But the Fowlers undoubtedly realized that their days at the Arrowhead Drive-In were numbered, and in 1946 they moved to the Old Barge Café, a relatively new restaurant right on the Pecos River at Lakeview Courts. Meanwhile, Don had been hosting open-to-the-public dances at the big barn on their property at 1408 North Canal Street, and soon they began converting it into a rustic restaurant they would call the Red Barn.
The Red Barn opened on April 6, 1947. At first the Fowlers offered only two entrees—charcoal-broiled steaks and country-fried chicken—in their small dining room. But they soon set about expanding their restaurants, and within the next couple of years it earned recommendations from the American Automobile Association, Duncan Hines, and Gourmet magazine. Each meal came with French fries or mashed potatoes, a salad, and, for a little extra, a slice from one of the pies baked by Pearl Hogan especially for the Red Barn. And, in the restaurant’s early years folks in Carlsbad could have a complete steak or chicken dinner delivered to their door for $3.00.
On entering the restaurant patrons saw a wall lined with menus from famous restaurants all over the world, and during the winter months the Fowlers kept a camp coffee pot over the fire in the Pine Room and served coffee to guests as they sat down. In 1954 the Red Barn was featured in Life magazine, which dubbed it “a favorite party spot” in Carlsbad.
In 1961 the Fowlers sold the Red Barn and moved to Taos, where the following year they opened the Hickory Tree, a barbecue place, on Santa Fe Road. The restaurant’s new owners were Donald E. Protz, who’d been a mining engineer with the Potash Corporation of America, and his wife, Mattie.
The Protzes had been operating the Red Barn for about two and a half years when, on December 13, 1963, the restaurant burned to the ground after it had closed for the evening. Many attributed the loss to the lack of adequate firefighting capabilities in the area, and after the fire the Protzes spearheaded a successful drive to organize the La Huerta Volunteer Fire Department.
Don Protz died in 1976 at age 69; Mattie Protz died in 1994 at age 82.
The Fowlers went go on to open two other restaurants in Taos: the Doll House, where Marge Fowler displayed her magnificent collection of rare dolls, in 1965, and the Red Chimney Pit Bar-B-Q in 1983.
Roquefort Dressing
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Loading...The Red Barn restaurant in Carlsbad, New Mexico, used this dressing on its Country Salad (see notes below), which it recommended as the perfect accompaniment with any of its charcoal-broiled steaks. The recipe may well have originated with Pearl Hogan, who for many years baked the pies served at the Red Barn.
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound Roquefort cheese or 1 pound blue cheese
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- 1 cup sour cream
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 small onion, grated
Instructions
In a bowl, combine the Roquefort or blue cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, and grated onion and whisk until creamy.
Refrigerate.
Notes
The Red Barn used this dressing to top what it called a "Country Salad," which consisted of a cucumber, peeled and cut in half lengthwise, served on a bed of crisp lettuce.
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