About

JD Tadlock opened the doors of BUFF’S on August 19, 2016 with the help of his other half Beth, his nephew Seth, advice from his old rodeo partner Marty and vision of something amazing!

While traveling with Marty Wells, JD’s longtime friend on the rodeo circuit, the two cowboys ate at every place imaginable…which most of the time wasn’t so great.  JD had owned a restaurant in Ft. Smith, Arkansas in 1990 so they decided enough was enough. They bought a grill and when they had a 2-3 day hitch somewhere, they would cook for themselves.

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Marty went on to open a popular restaurant in California and when JD retired from a very successful rodeo career as a calf roper and steer wrestler, he returned to his hometown of Pilot Point.

JD always wanted to open another restaurant but he knew it had to be just the right place, it had to have really great fresh food (no microwaves allowed) and amazing service. After all, with hundreds of thousands of miles of bad food behind him, he definitely knew what not to do.   

When a Chinese restaurant closed down on US 377, he drove through the parking lot every single day for about 6 weeks. Finally he made the call to his nephew Seth, a chef, and asked him if he wanted in. 

Then he made the call to the Landlord of the property and walked through the building. Still on the fence about taking on such a big endeavor, Marty flew out, walked the building with JD and with a little sound advice from his old friend, JD called the landlord and signed the lease.

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The concept of BUFF’S took on a life of its own with its trademark murals, artwork and subtle “Rodeo” flavor, and on August 19th the doors opened with JD at the helm of the grill and BUFF’S was born.

And why the name BUFF’S? 

JD was with Bill Parker when they visited Dee Pickett’s house and though it’s not quite clear how the conversation took this turn, Dee Pickett made it plain that JD was “just a buffalo headed Texan” ….  And as cowboy legends go, the name “Buff” stuck with JD for the rest of his rodeo days.

And that boys and girls is the story of BUFF’S…