Kitchen

Dick Barrows was born in Manhattan but grew up in that iconic American suburb: Levittown!  His early interests were baseball, shooting marbles and Davy Crockett but he did follow his mother around the kitchen where she made delicious meals including wonderful brisket with potato pancakes.After graduating from Ball State University he worked as a busboy and waiter in a crepe restaurant in Philadelphia then snagged a job as a prep cook at Frog, one of the earliest restaurants in the Philadelphia Restaurant Renaissance.  He quickly advanced to prep cook and lunch chef at Frog where he received much of his early training.  Sue McCarthy, whom he had met at Ball State, worked at Frog as a server.When Sue and Dick were married, they moved to Bucks County where they had a variety of restaurant jobs until they were able to purchase Forager House, a (barely) going concern in New Hope.  Despite a number of obstacles, they were able to transform Forager House into a well respected restaurant in the Bucks County restaurant scene.  After the birth of their daughter, Leslie, Dick decided to move to Easton, PA.Dick felt that he preferred to specialize in fresh seafood so he opened Starfish Brasserie in Bethlehem, PA.  The place was an instant hit and Dick honed his craft while Starfish won awards as Best Seafood Restaurant nine years running.Leslie attended UNC, Chapel Hill and Dick spent many happy hours visiting the Triangle area.  After their daughter’s graduation, Dick and Sue felt that they would like to live in the Chapel Hill area.After running a couple of more formal restaurants, Dick decided that he preferred an informal place so his concept for Kitchen included great food made from local ingredients served in friendly surroundings.  Dick named the restaurant to evoke the image of eating in the kitchen of a good cook, without ceremony.Although he was born in New York and grew up in Pennsylvania, Dick Barrows now considers himself a Tarheel through and through.