Our Historical LocationS

Bare Bones Steakhouse was a forty-year dream of owner Buddy Maughon. With the support of his wife, Gigi (Gaye), Buddy’s dream came to fruition in December 2015 in the historic Bona Allen Harness and Saddlery building. The Maughon’s wanted to bring a classic steakhouse to Buford, Georgia. 

The Bona Allen Company was a tannery that opened in 1873 in Buford, Georgia. As the nation's largest tannery, the company made horse collars and saddles, postal bags, cowboy boots, shoes and more. It also had a contract to supply the sporting equipment giant, Spalding, with raw material for the manufacture of baseballs and baseball mitts. The Bona Allen Company was owned by Bonaparte Allen. The factory closed in 1981 after a fire, and the main tannery building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 3, 2005.

As Bare Bones began to grow, additional space was needed. In February of 2020, Buddy and Gigi purchased the Shadburn Banking Company Building located at 101 East Main Street in the heart of the Buford historic district.

Built in 1901 by Burel Shadburn and his wife, Katherine Allen Shadburn – Bona Allen’s only daughter – the building has had an intriguing and ever-changing past. Although the building began as a bank, it has also been the home to the first indoor basketball court in Gwinnett County, a piano repair shop, an appliance store, the local post office, city court and a ladies’ boutique.

The hope of Buddy and Gigi is to restore the Shadburn Banking Company building into its early day grandeur as it opens as the new location for Bare Bones Steakhouse in November 2020.

 You are invited to join us at our new location and experience the delicious tradition of Bare Bones Steakhouse.