The Fire Barn is a great addition for Durand

By Doug Schroder

Editor

DURAND – Brain and Lisatte Steelglove have opened their new restaurant in Durand called The Fire Barn. It has been a real labor of love as the building, formerly known as the Big Scoop, was totally gutted and remodeled from bottom to top.

The Steelglove’s have kept everything local in the revamping of the building, using local contactors and materials in the remodeling.

Brain and Lisatte are carrying over that philosophy in the everyday operation of the restaurant as virtually everything is bought locally. No refrigerator or freezer can be found in the kitchen as they make everything fresh. They do have a small freezer on the second floor for ice cream and fish. Fish is about the only thing they don’t get locally.

The menu generally serves up pizzas, sub sandwiches, appetizers and dinners. While there I tried the Durand sub, a roast beef creation that was absolutely delicious. The fresh hand-cut french-fries were great also.

Brian put a lot of work into the tables as he and his father took to making them by hand. The light fixtures were also fashioned from the iron bands of wine barrells.

The restaurant is also adorned with many pictures of Durand’s past, plus many old farm do-dads hand on the walls.

Brain got the name for the restaurant from a restaurant his mother owned in Batavia from 1982-87. That Fire Barn was in an old fire station.

“I’ve always loved restaurants. I wanted a place that was very family oriented,” said Brian.

The Steelgloves have seemingly caught the attention of locals, even without a Grand Opening. One man who stopped in for a bite exclaimed to Brian, “Very impressed. Very impressed. This blows the socks off of anything in town.”

After sampling some of the faire and seeing what has been done to the building, I would have to agree. This restaurant will not only draw locals, it really has a chance of being a destination for those in the region.

The Steelgloves have settled down in Davis, and their children will go to Durand schools. They really do want to make everything local in what they do.