Restaurants

The 46-year-old Boonsboro native with golden curls began working at the Red Byrd Restaurant at 14. Folks come to the Keedysville establishment for Beth’s comforting service as much as they do for the comfort food.

“[The servers] all have their own little following of people that like to come see them,” says Jamie Burtner, 46, who owns and operates the restaurant with his wife, Becki.

After more than 50 years, the unassuming roadside diner, located along Shepherdstown Pike (Route 34) between Boonsboro and Sharpsburg, is a piece of fading Americana: a mom-and-pop operation specializing in authentic home-style cooking.

It’s the kind of cozy eatery you might stop at in the course of an afternoon drive, when autumn leaves are at their zenith, the mountains glowing red, gold, and orange.

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The Red Byrd opened in 1958 under the ownership of Olan Byrd and, over the years, has weathered hard times and changed hands on more than one occasion. A 12-room motel located behind the restaurant attracted road-weary travelers for decades, but closed in the early 1990s.

Becki and Jamie Burtner, whose Keedysville roots date back to the 1840s, purchased the business in 2001 with the goal of maintaining what the Red Byrd has always been known for: great service, reasonable prices, generous portions, and homemade dishes.

“That’s what we try to be,” Jamie says. “We want to be as close to you walking out of your own kitchen [as possible].”

At 92, Austin T. Brandenburg—“Mr. B”—is still sharp and spry, but can’t quite put his finger on how long he’s been dining at the Red Byrd.

“You know how many years it might have been?” he asks Charles Myers, his Myersville neighbor and dining companion on this morning.

“I don’t know. You’ve been coming here a lot longer than me,” replies Charles, cleverly avoiding disclosure of his own age.

“Ever since it opened, I guess,” concludes Mr. B.

Retired now, Mr. B spent most of his life installing residential antennas. He still makes it in at least once a week for breakfast and to see Beth.

“Everybody knows everybody. Pretty much so,” he says. “We just enjoy the company. A family get-together, you might say.”

“Our regular customers, they’re just really sweet,” Beth says. During her shift, Keedysville residents will stop by two or three times just to socialize with different people.

“It’s more like a second family,” says Kristen Short, who has worked at the Red Byrd for 16 years and, like Beth, started when she was 14.

Seated beneath one of the many portraits of cardinals adorning the walls, Charles and Mr. B place their order. Charles is having creamed chipped beef on hot cakes—a favorite among breakfast diners.

“I’m having the corned beef hash,” says Mr. B. “They kind of change the menu on a daily basis. They have good food. I can say that. Always. I never complained about the food.”

The Red Byrd features a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu, as well as weekly specials like spaghetti, meatloaf, and potpie dinners.

“Some of our daily specials have been daily specials damn near since this place opened,” says Jamie.

Depending on whom you talk to, everyone’s got a go-to dish—or two, or three. Hot roast beef and turkey sandwiches smothered in gravy ($6.95) and the Road Runner, a beef patty with BBQ sauce, onion ring, bacon, and American cheese on a Kaiser roll ($6.75) are popular items.