Guests nest in old coops

For a trip to visit my daughter at Angelo State University, I explored various hotels before landing at the Chicken Farm Art Center, a funky art colony on a former chicken farm.

The quick getaway turned into a fun adventure my husband and I look forward to repeating.

Back story: Until the 1950s, people bought packaged chicken at local farms, before corporate producers and refrigerated trucks put them out of business. In 1971, Roger Allen bought an abandoned 3-acre farm north of downtown San Angelo.

Gradually, he and two artist friends transformed the coops and other buildings into an eclectic enclave of artists' studios, galleries and apartments that's become a destination.

“Yeah, we've created an institution here, but it wasn't by design,” Allen says. In 1999, artists Jerry and Susan Warnell bought half the property and turned the farm's grain silo into a gourmet restaurant and upstairs guest room.

Artists in residence: Seventeen artists keep studios at the farm, working in mediums from clay to copper to digital film. Some, such as Allen and wife Pam Bladine and the Warnells, live there, too.

Allen is best known for his brightly colored StarKeeper stoneware pottery.

We visited with Jeremy Bundick, who collaborates with wife Millicent to create whimsical goblets, bowls and other dishware, along with ceramic sculptures. “We're just trying to do something different,” he said.

Cool digs: A curved staircase led to the Artist Loft upstairs in the Silo, where we slept in a round room without windows. “This feels like a castle,” my husband observed.

Sections of renovated chicken coops house two more rooms, the Santa Fe and the Country French. Overnight guests have access at any time to the breakfast nook, stocked with fruit, yogurt, juice, cereal and other breakfast fixings. Jerry Warnell leaves homemade muffins or scones at 8 a.m.

Farm events: First Saturdays are a tradition at the Chicken Farm. Local musicians — collectively called the Chicken Pickers — perform during the day, and dozens of artists set up booths with their work. On second Thursdays, visitors plunk down in lawn chairs and enjoy outdoor concerts from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

In November, thousands turn out for the farm's annual open house, held Friday through Sunday after Thanksgiving. Live music plays round the clock while folks shop wares of 60-plus artists.

Dining ops: The week's posted menu at the farm's Salt @ the Silo House restaurant sounded enticing: Smoked Sea Salt Rubbed Ribeye, Flounder en Cartocio or Braised Lamb Shank, with four-course dinners ranging from $46 to $52. Too bad we had other plans.

On our way out of town, we ate beef enchiladas at El Mejor Taco Bar and Patio Café.

Parting laugh: “I tell everyone that I'm gonna find me another chicken coop outside of town, and this time I won't tell anyone where it is,” said Roger Allen, Chicken Farm founder.