Goshen’s The Old Barn Restaurant awarded Fiery Four plaque
Published 4:21 pm Friday, September 4, 2015
JOURNAL PHOTO | MONA MOORE
Members of the American Cattlemen’s Association join Amanda Reeves, Alabama Beef Ambassador, in presenting a plaque to Amy and Scottie Chandler, owners of The Old Barn Restaurant in Goshen. Pictured, left to right, are Max Bozeman Jr., Bill Hixon, Pike County Cattlemen’s Association President B.B. Palmer, ACA Regional Vice President Larry Reeves, Coffee County Cattlemen’s Association President Jamie Wyrosdick, Beverly Taylor, Abby Taylor and Jaycie Chandler. Front row, Scottie Chandler, Amanda Reeves and Amy Chandler.
GOSHEN – The Old Barn Restaurant in Goshen received a plaque for being a “Fiery Four” finalist of the Alabama’s Best Steak contest. Alabama Cattlemen’s Association (ACA) Regional Vice President Larry Reeves presented the restaurant owners with a plaque Thursday evening to acknowledge their achievement.
Owners Amy and Scottie Chandler were thrilled with the recognition.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” said Amy. “It would be wonderful to win, but it is just an honor to be in the final four.”
The other three finalists are OH! Bryan’s Family Steakhouse, Tuscumbia; Bull Pen Steakhouse, Oakman; and Elmer’s Restaurant, Notasulga.
A panel of industry judges will judge this year’s final four restaurants anonymously throughout the month of September. During this portion of the contest, each finalist’s ribeye steak will be judged on overall taste, tenderness and juiciness.
The winning steakhouse will be announced at the end of September and will receive a feature story in the Alabama Cattleman magazine, a plaque with a press conference presentation, bragging rights for one year and an influx of customers looking to try Alabama’s best steak.
“This contest has certainly garnered a great deal of publicity for these restaurants, and they have reaped the benefits by welcoming new customers in to try their steaks,” ACA Director of Consumer Marketing Erin Beasley said. “The judges are ready to hit the road in the coming weeks as we move one step closer to finding our winner.”
In addition to the publicity, Amy said she has made a lot of new friends.
“It’s been a great experience,” she said. “We’ve gotten to meet so many other restaurant owners and it has been wonderful to have the Cattlemen here with us tonight.”
The 2015 contest drew in record numbers of online votes and social media participation with more than 50,000 overall votes generated. The nominating round held during the month of July hosted more than 12,000 nominations, while the “Sizzling 16” portion of the bracket challenge brought in over 15,500 votes on the contest’s website. The “Enticing 8” challenge motivated more than 25,400 online votes.
Scottie said he owed a lot of the restaurant’s success to his native town of Brantley and all of the friends and family who frequent The Old Barn.
“We get so much support from Crenshaw County,” he said. “And when Brantley plays Goshen this restaurant lights up in green.”
The Old Barn is located at 1944 County Road 2243 in Goshen. Contact the restaurant at 334-484-3200 or email them at oldbarn12345@gmail.com.
For more information on the contest visit www.AlabamasBestSteak.com.
