Buck Nekkid BBQ Promises Food, Fun

Buck Nekkid BBQ & Saloon is scheduled for an opening in April at 3825 N. Shiloh Dr., in Fayetteville. The 10,000-SF building was previously home to Ryan’s and Fire Mountain.

The business is co-owned by seven individuals: Joe Brooks, Marcy Zahm, Flo Sanchez, David and Diana Whitworth and Jerry and Robin Burkett.

“None of us are restaurateurs; we’re new to this,” Zahm said.

The group is leasing the building through Lindsey & Associates of Fayetteville, and has been renovating since early November.

“Most of it we have done ourselves,” Zahm said.

The restaurant will feature seating for approximately 300, with a large horseshoe bar in the center. Local artists Sharla Moyer and Jane Davidian were commissioned to create custom murals throughout the restaurant.

Zahm said market research for the restaurant’s menu items was done in the fall. The group set up tailgating sites at a handful of University of Arkansas football games for feedback.

“Everybody that tasted the food wanted to know when we were going to be open,” she said. “That told us pretty much what we needed to know.”

And the unique name?

“Well, there are a couple of stories there,” Zahm said. “Partly, it’s the way the meat is prepared. It’s not cooked in sauce. It’s ‘naked’ as we say. That’s one half.”

Besides the slow-cooked “naked” meats, which promise to bring an authentic taste of south Texas-style pit barbecue, Zahm said the restaurant name also can be traced back to family origins of one of the owners.

Brooks’ father was nicknamed “Buck” and operated a business several years ago in Junction, Texas, called Buck Crossing General Store.

Menu items will cover a wide selection including barbecue, ribs, chicken and turkey.

“And the brisket we make is like nothing we have found up here,” Zahm added.

Most menu items will be ordered in large portions, basically by the pound, and anything ordered is already prepared.

“You just have to decide what you want,” she said.