With a motto of “Cold Beer, Good Eats and Live Music,” Bishop Badger, Buck’s Backyard partner and general manager, said locals do not need to look further than their backyard for a good time.

Nestled among Kyle, Buda and South Austin, Buck’s Backyard opened in January. A Buda transplant, Badger said he felt the city could use a place like Buck’s. 

The bar targets patrons ages 25-40; however, because it is in the suburbs, Badger said Buck’s tries to make the venue child- and dog-friendly during the daytime.

“I want them to feel at home. I want people to know that we are a really beautiful location with a friendly staff and great music,” Badger said. “It’s really a local neighborhood bar during the week.”

Badger said one of the biggest challenges since opening is making sure everyone from the surrounding areas knows Buck’s Backyard is open and ready for business.

“We are doing our best to make this the best live music venue in Central Texas. We have a few big country acts coming up. We have some rock ‘n’ roll, and we have a huge dance floor,” Badger said.

After recently acquiring another 8 acres of land—bringing the business’s total area to 15 acres—Buck’s plans on expanding its parking lot and building an amphitheater to bring in more performers.

Badger said the name Buck’s encompasses the vibe he and his business partners, JD Dunn and Todd Otte, are trying to give their customers. It does not hurt that patrons can add to the decor and get a free drink of choice by bringing in a set of buck antlers.

“Well, I wanted to name it Badger’s Backyard, but I was overruled by my partners,” Badger said. “Buck’s Backyard is great because it gives you that down-home country feel, which is what we are about here.”

Badger, who considers Netflix to be the bar’s competition, said he aims to get people out of the house.

“We just really need to get people to interact with other people and enjoy coming out and meeting new people,” Badger said. “A lot of the people that come in are our neighbors, so I try to build a relationship with everyone that comes in.”