The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Buford steakhouse offers Southern comfort food
Bare Bones’ takeout menu includes fried chicken and pork chops.
A butcher for a good hunk of his 82 years, Buddy Maughon always said he wanted to open a steakhouse when he retired. After selling off his neighborhood meat markets in Decatur and Norcross, he did just that.
Appearing in 2015, Bare Bones Steakhouse, in the historic Bona Allen tannery in downtown Buford, was a dream realized for him — a place where diners could enjoy an icy martini; a tower of tempura-fried onion rings; and a prime steak, often handcut by the patriarch or his son Rhett.
“He’s got the ability to source the best steak he can find,” said Michael Maughon, the restaurant’s general manager and also Buddy’s son. “He also has the ability to keep it an affordable price point.”
Still, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced Bare Bones to suspend in-house dining in March, it didn’t make much sense to offer a $45 filet mignon and a $69 tomahawk for two as takeout. Michael knew he had to come up with a carryout menu that was practical and affordable.
Then, he remembered Quinnie’s, a now-shuttered soul-food cafe on LaVista Road. Across the street from his late grandparents’ pharmacy, where he worked beginning at 13, Quinnie’s was his go-to spot, and the inspiration for his new takeout menu of Southern comfort food.
“When I wrote the menu, I was like, ‘What do people need during this shutdown?’ ” he said in a phone interview. “I was like, ‘Quinnie’s! They just need Quinnie’s!’ So that’s what I was thinking of when I wrote it.” (Think fried chicken, meatloaf, chicken pot pie, pot roast, barbecue pork and fried catfish, with sides of collards, black-eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, green beans and the like.)
However, if your heart is set on steak, you still can find a deal.
The curbside menu offers, among other cuts, a choice New York strip or rib-eye, or a prime chateaubriand for two. Though the prices are about the same as dinein, they come with a bonus: two sides and a dessert. In addition, a selection of $14 dinner plates (chopped steak with grilled onions and brown gravy; fried pork chops; Santa Fe chicken; a pasta dish; a Caesar with shrimp or chicken) also includes two sides and dessert.
When in-house dining resumes Tuesday, the new wallet-friendly menu will remain — but only as takeout.
On the business side, Michael said Bare Bones has not had to lay off any of about 40 employees, though a handful have chosen to stay home for personal reasons.
As it prepares to reopen, the restaurant is reconfiguring its dining rooms and educating staffers on safety measures. “We’re really following everything to the letter,” he said. “We’ve got the tape measures out. We’ve got the temperature checks at the backdoor (for staffers). We’ve got the masks and gloves.”
Two faces you can count on seeing at the refashioned steakhouse are those of founder Buddy Maughon and his wife, Gigi. Though Buddy remains physically robust and still cuts steaks from time to time, he’s been under quarantine during the pandemic. “Neither one of them enjoy the whole stay-athome thing,” Michael said of his parents. “They’ll be glad to open the dining room.”
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