GAYLEN YOUNG: On the road to good eating
| Friday, Apr 01 2011 12:00 PM
Last Updated Friday, Apr 01 2011 12:00 PM
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Vickie Murray of Murray Family Farms next to a batch of produce inside her store off Highway 58 and General Beale Road.
Vickie Murray of Murray Family Farms, inside their family store on General Beale Road, east of Bakersfield.
A popular spot for locals and travelers is Murray Family Farms, east of Bakersfield on General Beale Road.
Mary Lou Vachon sits in front of the Apple Shed that she and husband, Jacques, own in Tehachapi.
A longtime server at the Apple Shed in Tehachapi, Bridgette Jenkins, checks on a breakfast order before giving it to the chef. Jenkins has worked here for 11 years.
Apple Shed owner Mary Lou Vachon chats with breakfast customers Larry Rose and family, Riza, left, Lauren, foreground, and his wife, Aileen, Thursday, in Tehachapi.
Bridgette Jenkins, an Apple Shed server for 11 years, loads the French toast with whipped cream for a morning customer at the restaurant in Tehachapi.
With all my children now living in Utah and much of my normal business still in Bakersfield, I am back and forth a lot these days. That means I really have come to know Highway 58, the main east-west route in and out of Kern County.
To make the drive easier, I have come to appreciate many landmarks along the way.
I know that once I turn west from Barstow, it's just a few miles until I pass Edwards Air Force Base. Then on to Mojave's Space Port and Tehachapi's windmills. A little farther is the Tehachapi Loop, the Big Red Barn at Murray Family Farms and then I'm home.
I stop along the way for gas and food. Next month, I'll have another important excuse to stop at the Big Red Barn because the Murray family will officially open the kitchen for lunches and full meals.
I've known Steve and Vickie Murray for more than a decade as they've turned their farm land first into a roadside fruit and veggie stand, then into a destination for passersby, and now into a full-fledged tourist mecca.
The Murrays had a small farm of about 20 acres not far from the Big Red Barn. They grew mostly cherries. But most grocers and wholesalers didn't want the small amount they produced. So they took their fruit to Santa Barbara's Farmer's Market and loved it. They decided they should do something similar here in Kern County.
"We decided that is what we wanted to do, because when you give a sweet little old lady a bag of good cherries that she hadn't had in 40 years, she'd get tears in her eyes. There's just something about that, and that was our start," Vickie Murray said.
The Murrays thought the land owned by Bert Berchtold and Jimmie Icardo near General Beale Road was the perfect spot.
"Neither of them wanted to sell to us, but Steve kept after them, year after year until they finally agreed to sell it," Murray said.
Then came the 20-year expansion. The Murrays have grown their acreage for planting from 20 acres to about 220. The roadside market grew from a little stand to a trailer, to a larger area including a petting zoo. For the last seven years, they've built and expanded the Big Red Barn.
"It really took us a long time. When we had the money to expand, the planning department would make us re-do something. Then when they gave us the green-light, we didn't have the money," Murray said. "It's been hard for them to help us because we're here on agricultural land, which is zoned for farming, but we're trying to do commercial too, so it's been a real process."
The Murrays were finally able to pave the on and off ramp, get all the zoning and plumbing and have just finished the permits to allow them to open the kitchen part of the Big Red Barn. About the first of May they plan to have an official grand opening.
"We opened the Red Barn almost three years ago and we've been selling fruits and vegetables here since then, but we didn't want to have an official 'grand-opening' without our kitchen. It's always been our dream to have this cool little restaurant here that serves lunches and homemade pies and fudge, but it's taken years to get all the permits for it," Murray said.
The Murrays also took over an old fruit and veggie stand along Interstate 5 near Copus Road a couple of years ago and have fixed it up as a smaller version of their Big Red Barn location.
"Now we get all the north-south travelers going back and forth from San Francisco to Los Angeles," Murray said.
It seems that's how Colonel Baker got started, allowing his 40 acres near the Convention Center to be used by north-south travelers who stopped at Baker's field.
The Murrays have also expanded their Big Red Barn to include a petting zoo, corn maze, ant farm and plenty of "pick-your-own" fruits. Last year they had more than 10,000 school kids come for tours and leave with a bucket of berries. They're also a main stop for tour buses, which bring people from all over the world.
It's a great enterprise for Kern County, not only because of the tourism, but also because it employs about 40 workers.
I also love to stop in Tehachapi on my road trips. One of my favorite places there is the famous Apple Shed.
It's a quaint restaurant, bakery and gift emporium on Tehachapi's Main Street.
It too has become quite the tourist attraction over the years, largely due to the efforts of Mary Lou and Jacques Vachon.
The Vachons got involved about six years ago after one of the owners died. Mary Lou had talked with one of the other owners and expressed interest.
The Vachons had previously spent more than a dozen years each working in customer service for American Airlines. The other owners thought they'd make a good fit so the deal was done.
"They wanted someone who could step into the existing successful business and take over the management," Mary Lou Vachon said. "My husband now works for NASA and it's become my full-time job and between our combined background experiences, we've really been able to be successful with it."
Mary Lou is very involved with the community, including the Tehachapi Main Street board and the Tourist Commission, and stays busy with a large family.
"We adopted three boys from Tehachapi a few years ago and that gives us six children now between us," Vachon said.
The Apple Shed has expanded its hours over the past few years, now serving breakfast, lunch and dinner every day but Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.
Even though the economy has taken a toll on many area businesses, the Apple Shed has managed to remain creative, cutting costs while maintaining payroll and strong customer service and food quality.
The Vachons said that with rising gasoline prices and the difficult overall economy, many people aren't traveling as much. That's actually turned into a blessing for them since many locals are sampling businesses in their own town more than before.
And like Murray Family Farms down the road, the Apple Shed has reached into the community and schools, providing 22 jobs and career development for students.
"Everyone knows the Apple Shed and looks to us for assistance and leadership," Vachon said.
If you have a business or know of one you'd like me to feature, please send an email to: gaylen@gaylenyoung.com and I'll add you to my list. The opinions expressed here are Gaylen Young's, not necessarily those of The Californian.
