Barn at Bear Ridge voted Best Event Venue
BY KYLE TROUTMAN ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com
A few years ago, Trisha and Brett Raipen were working jobs in Shell Knob and Monett, pining to follow their passions and seeing a need.
Now completing its third season, the couple have taken on event planning and hosting, as well as catering, full-time at the reader-voted Best Event Venue in the Cassville area — the Barn at Bear Ridge.
The venue on Highway 76 just west of the intersection with Highway M features a 6,700-square-foot all wood, post and beam monitor-style barn, as well as an outdoor patio serving as a wedding venue. The venue sits in a hilly area of Mark Twain National Forest, offering great views of the Ozarks landscape in any season.
The venue also offers in-house catering with Brett’s Red Rock Barbecue, which can cater events in-house or carry-out.
“The reason we wanted to build it is because Brett really enjoys BBQ, and really enjoy decorating for events,” Trisha said. “We had two girls both get married around the time we were considering building something, and after doing all the planning and catering for their weddings, we saw the process and saw a need we could fill in this community.”
Trisha said before the Barn went up, the property was just a cow pasture.
“We loved the location and the setting in the woods, and we thought it would be an ideal place for couples to get married,” Trisha said. “We built it from the ground up, and we have 32 acres of land surrounding it. When we designed the barn, between our girls getting married and going to other people’s weddings, we took what we like and what we didn’t and made the barn our own.”
Trisha said the venue stays busy year-round, hosting all types of events from Chamber banquets to proms, weddings to family events and class reunions to corporate Christmas parties. The exposure and how the venue is run, she believes, are what has led to Cassville Democrat readers voting the eBarn at Bear Ridge as Best Event Venue.
“A lot of the feedback we get from people on the reason they picked us is because we are easy to work with, and how we go above and beyond to make an event the best it can be,” Trisha said. “Brides or event planners call us sometimes and ask to come out a second or third time to see the venue to plan, and we let them. Many other places just give you one visit and a couple hours. We do that because we enjoy helping and really want to work with the community.”
That community, Trisha said, is owed all the accolades, as the Barn at Bear ridge would not be succeeding without local support.
“When I was working in Shell Knob and Brett in Monett, we loved Cassville and wanted to be here, and we didn’t see anything like the barn in the Cassville area for events,” Trisha said. “We are very fortunate for the community to be so supportive, from Cassville to Shell Knob. We’ve hosted all kinds of events, and one of the ones I was most excited to host was prom. Now, we are booked up through prom season.”
Trisha said adding the outdoor venue last year has been a success, and she hopes to continue improving the facility with lighting and possibly adding a classic car-themed water feature between the barn and the patio.
“We want to add more photo opportunities and landscaping,” she said.
The added benefit of on-site catering is a boon to the venue, and allow Brett an outlet to pursue his passion.
“I started Red Rock Barbecue because I love to BBQ,” he said. “When our daughters got married, that’s when I started scaling up to feed hundreds of people. We just kept that going.”
Brett said he built custom pits for his daughters’ weddings, which were used for Red Rock in the beginning. With new pits built specifically for the Barn, Red Rock specializes in old-school, slow-smoked pork butt and Texas brisket, as well as a smoked chicken recipe handed down over four generations of Brett’s family.
“All our dishes are family recipes through our family or given to us by family friends,” Brett said. “It’s al family recipes we scale up. The brisket and pulled pork are the go-tos, and I really like the process of smoking meat, but I really enjoy the reactions of people who enjoy the food we make.”
Brett said anyone looking for catering services can hire Red Rock, and he has done multiple off-site events.
“We don’t just cater at the Barn,” he said. “I have done golf tournaments and other events and parties all across Barry County.”
For more information about the Barn at Bear Ridge, people may call 417-846-5035 or email trisha@barnatbearridge.com. More information about the venue and catering options may be found at www.barnatbearridge.com.
