Red Wagon Café adds Friday Night barbecue

Now open for over a year and a half, the Red Wagon Café on 18800 Beach Avenue of south Shafter is expanding.

Good word of mouth as well as excellent reviews on Yelp, the Bakersfield Californian and The Shafter Press have kept the restaurant open for breakfast and lunch, Tuesday through Saturday, from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Using a "soft opening" approach, the Red Wagon is now open on Friday evenings from 4 to 8 p.m. Plans are to stay with these hours throughout the summer, featuring brisket, tri-tip, sausage, chicken, and salmon and other fish dishes. Each Friday's menu will be posted on Instagram with prices and can be found there at Instagram@theredwagoncafe.

The Red Wagon seats 30, but you can call for seating or for "to go meals" at 661-630-2032. They use a wood fire barbecue, and the brisket and tri-tip smokes for 12 hours to increase the flavor.

Daily operations are overseen by Matt Hernandez, one of the three owners. The daily cooking is handled by their chef, Miguel Alcarac. There are three ladies who handle hostess and waitress duties,including Candy Ramerez.

–Josh Devore