Red Barn Chicken Still Cooking For A Cause

Sticky Bird in Farmington officially became Red Barn Chicken in June.

The Station Park restaurant still serves crispy chicken fingers with sauces, but they differ from the former Sticky Bird’s. And, the menu has expanded to include more salads, wraps, and even hot dogs.

  But the reason for the restaurant — raising funds and providing work experience for the Red Barn Academy’s addiction recovery program — hasn’t changed. Many of the restaurant staff are Academy students working towards successful, sober futures. Along with culinary training, they learn things like teamwork, leadership, decision-making, and taking responsibility.

   “The students find things they didn’t realize they were good at,” said Angette Howard, the general manager who has overseen the transition to Red Barn Chicken.  “Many of them have never been in food service before. But they are taught to give 200 percent in everything they do.”

  I recently interviewed Howard and some of the Red Barn Academy students for a Standard-Examiner article.

  A bit of history: I wrote in 2021 about Sticky Bird, its connection with Red Barn Academy, and its partnership with Winger’s restaurants. That story gives more details about how the partnership came about.

 Briefly, Red Barn Academy was founded by Rich and Krista Haws, who owned the Farmington property that became Station Park and Park Lane Commons. After losing their son, Dustin, to a heroin overdose in 2012, they began hosting therapy sessions in their red barn on Park Lane Commons. Over the years, the program expanded to include living quarters for more than 50 students who stay for free. With the Hawses’ son Michael Haws as CEO, the nonprofit program offers other work opportunities, such as Red Barn Movers, and the Red Barn thrift store. These enterprises are used to fund the Academy.

   Sticky Bird, located near the Red Barn Academy, opened several years ago in a partnership with Wingers Restaurants. Hence, the restaurant featured some of Winger’s signature items, such as its boneless “Sticky Fingers” chicken, glistening the signature Amazing sauce.

  The partnership ended this past year.

     “The partnership between Wingers and Sticky Bird at Red Barn Farms has been among the best relationships the Red Barn has ever cultivated,” Mike Haws of Red Barn Academy responded to a query about the change. “Red Barn and Wingers decided to separate mutually, so Red Barn Chicken could take everything they learned from Wingers to new heights and continue to help more students of the Red Barn Academy.”

Separating from the Winger’s brand meant that Red Barn had to stop using the Winger’s brand of proprietary recipes. So, the staff created its own recipes.

“Now we have the ability to let the students be creative,” said Howard. “We can’t copy anything, and we don’t really want to.”

The students received some help from chef Brandon Howard (Angette’s husband) who had a long career with Utah restaurants such as La Caille, Snowbird, Market Street Grill, and The Point at the Huntsman Center. Brandon was also the president and chief operating officer at Wingers Restaurants until July 2022, and is now chief operating officer of Motos America, Inc.

 

  The new signature sauce, RFB (Red Barn Farms), is sweet, spicy and smoky. A creamy version mixes in some ranch dressing to mellow the heat. Other sauces include Sweet Heat, traditional BBQ, Buffalo, and a mustard-based sauce.

  Red Barn jumped on the “hot honey” trend, with a fiery honey glaze to drizzle on chicken. “It’s one of the most popular sauces,” Howard said.

   She said she plans to install a sauce bar, so customers can sample the different sauces and become more familiar with them.

  More salads were added to the menu, including a spicy Black Bean Corn, Strawberry Bleu, South of the Barn Door, and the RBF Mixed Wedge.

  The staff also experimented with a lemon-flavored Dole Whip/frozen lemonade concoction, starting with lemonade, then a layer of slushy Dole Whip, and adding a dollop of whipped cream.

  But it’s not just about the food, but “the genuine care and love for what we are doing here,” said Ruben Johnson, a crew lead and Academy student. “This isn’t just a job for us, we are earning our lives back.”

  He said creating a new restaurant reflects how the students are creating new lives for themselves. He has been in the program 11 months.

  “I was heavily into my addiction, which led to my arrest,” he said. “Red Barn plucked me out of the darkness. For the first time in my life, I let go of my pride. I gave into trust.”

   Jacob Mobley, another Academy student, said he enjoys the customer interaction at the restaurant. “Anytime you can make somebody’s day a little better, that’s the most important thing for me. That fills my cup.”

  “There are a lot of places that just make food ,” said Howard. “From coming up with the recipes to actually making them, the students want to do their best. They’re committed. They know everything that do is a reflection on Red Barn and they want to do a good job.”

  Where: 504 N. Station Parkway, Farmington

  Contact: https://redbarnchicken.com or (801) 784-5885

  Open: Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Closed Sundays.

  Prices: Entrees run $8.50 to $16.50, also family-size meals for takeout, $46-plus