Angus Barn co-founder, who left a big mark on North Carolina’s restaurant industry, dies
Charles Winston, the Raleigh restaurateur who co-founded the Angus Barn Steakhouse and left an enduring mark on the Triangle’s hospitality industry, has died. He was 91 years old.
Winston opened the Angus Barn Steakhouse with business partner Thad Eure Jr. in 1960, establishing a steakhouse legacy extending for more than five decades and becoming one of the best-known restaurants in North Carolina.
Winston’s son, Charles Winston Jr., said his father died Monday, Feb. 8 of natural causes. He said his career in the restaurant business came from a desire to serve people.
“He was a true Southern gentleman,” Winston Jr. said in a phone interview. “He liked people and had so many good friends. That’s why he was in the hospitality industry; he liked being with people.”
‘Unbelievable work ethic’
Winston was born Sept. 11, 1929 and grew up in Raleigh, his son said. He attended high school at the Augusta Military Academy in Virginia and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill. He and his wife, Florence Winston, were married in July 1957.
Winston and Eure founded the Angus Barn on the outskirts of Raleigh. A fire in 1964 in the first few years of the steakhouse forced the pair to build the restaurant back essentially from scratch. The Angus Barn is known for its service as much as its steak, and in 2019 was a James Beard Awards semifinalist for hospitality. Winston Jr. said that culture was stamped into the restaurant’s fabric long ago.
“The reason they were successful is they were willing to do whatever it took to make it right,” Winston Jr. said. “They had an unbelievable work ethic.”
In 1983, after more than 20 years in business, Winston and Eure decided to split up their partnership of the steakhouse, using a coin toss to determine who would decide the steakhouse’s fate. Winston won the toss and elected to sell his half to Eure. Today the Angus Barn remains in the Eure family, owned by Thad Eure’s daughter, Van.
“In my life I have yet to see another business relationship that was based on true friendship, honesty, respect and integrity,” Van Eure said in a statement “His influence on providing legendary hospitality remains part of the Angus Barn to this day.”
Pizza Inn and Darryl’s
Though they ended their partnership, Winston and Eure remained partners in a number of other restaurants and businesses, Winston Jr. said, owning Pizza Inn franchisees, a number of hotels and the national chain of Darryl’s restaurants, which began on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. A contemporary of TGI Friday’s, Darryl’s was a theme restaurant known for its kitsch.
“It was a Friday’s on steroids,” Winston Jr. said. “They had train cabooses, jail cells, carousel seats, spiral staircases, opera boxes.”
Only one Darryl’s location exists today, in Greensboro.
“I grew up in it,” Winston Jr. said. “Dad started us early. We were janitors at 9 and 10 years old. We were mowing the lawn at the Angus Barn. I worked at Darryl’s as a cook and bartender.”
Winston Jr. owns and operates Winston’s Grille in North Raleigh. He and his business partner Wil O’Neal were named the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association’s restaurateurs of the year this year.
“He set a high bar for people to follow,” Winston Jr. said. “I got into restaurants and my brother got into hotels. So you could say we followed his path.”
Charles and Florence Winston were inducted into the Raleigh Hall of Fame in 2011, honored for years of successful businesses and donations and service to local charities.
The flags at the Angus Barn will be flown at half-staff in honor of Winston, the restaurant announced Tuesday.
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 5:21 PM.
