'Like Going Home': Madison Countians reminisce about The Maverick Club after demolition

Feb. 26—It was a simpler time.

One that Tina Buffkin remembers fondly.

At only 14-years-old, Buffkin recalls the memories, years ago, when she would get to go along with her father to The Maverick Club.

She would sit at the bar and drink a Coke as her father and Monroe Brock, the bar's previous owner, would converse. They would speak about the goings-on of Madison County, of pool tournaments, as well as the western music stars who would be playing at the bar that weekend.

"Life was good," Buffkin said. "It was like a family."

Once known as The Maverick Club, the building has gone through multiple monikers and various owners. However, one thing remained the same throughout the years. It was a place where the people of Richmond loved to go. For many, it was like a second home.

Now, what many would call a historic building in Madison County, is no more. The new owner of the building, Rick Thomas, has had it torn down. Thomas told The Register the building was beyond repair — the walls were caving in and the roof was sagging.

"The building was too far gone," Thomas said. He explained when the lot is cleared he will begin having a new building constructed. This building will be the new home of his automotive business, Majors & Minors Automotive. His business is currently just across the street from where The Maverick Club used to stand. Thomas hopes to have the construction of his new business finished in the next few months.

"Just as quick as we can build it, I'll be ready to move across the street," Thomas said.

With The Maverick Club gone, many have taken to reminiscing.

"I got teary-eyed seeing it torn down," Buffkin said.

However, even though the physical structure is gone, the Maverick's memory and what it meant to the people of Madison County, lives on.

Before the well-known bar was named The Maverick Club, it was known as The Bull's Horn.

Monroe Brock purchased the building and changed the name to The Maverick Club.

A source with close ties to the bar said Brock named the bar after the western television show, "Maverick," which aired in 1957.

Keeping with the western theme, the bar had a slew of western singers perform throughout the years.

Keith Whitley, George Jones, and Johnny Paycheck were just a few of the faces of those who had performed at the bar. Pictures of performers hung in frames along the walls of The Maverick Club and looked down at the patrons as they drank from the bar, played pool, and shimmied on the dance floor.

Buffkin remembers the time she saw both Johnny Paycheck and George Jones perform live at The Maverick Club.

"The first time I saw him (George Jones), he was really good," Buffkin remembered.

His second appearance was very different. It was during the time when Jones earned the nickname, "No Show Jones."

"The second time, they couldn't get him out of the car... Yeah, he was drunk," Buffkin said.

Buffkin, who officially started going to the bar when she turned 18, said there were two poles in the middle of the dance floor for people to swing around. The bar also featured the best "screwdriver" in town, according to Buffkin. When she began to frequent the bar, Eugene Todd was the owner. He kept the name and the western theme which Brock had brought to the bar.

As with any bar, an over-indulgence in alcohol consumption can lead to some rowdiness.

Carrie Sargent told The Register her uncle died just outside The Maverick Club after a fight. Her aunt, who would take her to the bar when she was a child, got stabbed in the stomach there.

"I guess it was bad back then," Sargent recalled. "People looked after each other later."

Buffkin herself remembered a time when a woman came into the bar wielding a gun and fire shots. Buffkin had to crawl out the side door.

Despite the rough times at the bar, Buffkin said there were a lot more good times than there were bad.

"You looked forward to it on Friday night," Buffkin said.

She explained she and her friend would leave work and go home and get cleaned up and ready for the bar and usually get there around 6:30 p.m. or 7:00 p.m.

"Some of us would get drunk," Buffkin said. "Some of us wouldn't, and we would have to take care of the ones who did."

She explained the bar was a "home bar," where everyone came to know everyone by their first name. It was a place, she said, for good ole boys and girls to drink and enjoy country music.

"You'd enjoy it if you had a little bit of redneck in you," Buffkin said.

One of Buffkin's fondest memories of the bar is the fact she met her husband there. She said one day she went to The Maverick Club and ventured behind the bar to grab one of the pool sticks Todd had given her. When she walked back out from behind the bar, her now-husband turned around and asked her if she wanted to play a game of pool. She, of course, said yes. After their first encounter, the two met at the bar a couple more times.

Buffkin remembered her husband used to enjoy a drink from The Maverick Club known as The Rattlesnake, which featured Kahlua and milk.

"I never drank one because it probably would have knocked me on my tail," Buffkin said with a laugh.

The couple met that fateful night at The Maverick in November 1996, and on Dec. 9, they were married. They have now been married for 25 years.

"There are a lot of good memories in that place.... Visiting it would be like going home," Buffkin said.

Many have taken to a Facebook page known as Memories and pictures of Richmond, Kentucky to share their own memories of The Maverick Club. The Facebook page can be found here — https://www.facebook.com/groups/richmond.ky.memories.

"Now that it's gone," Buffkin said. "I hope he (Rick Thomas) makes it a good place."