By Jack Reaney ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Buck’s T-4, a keystone of Big Sky history for 75 years, is closing its restaurant and bar for an indefinite period.
The restaurant and bar, built in 1950, originally planned to open for the 2023 winter season on Dec. 16. However, according to a statement from a representative of Buck’s T-4, current employees are being offered positions at three affiliated businesses in Town Center.
“We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition for all current employees during this closure. Our partner HHM [Hersha Hospitality Management, LP], manages three businesses in Town Center and is providing relocation opportunities for our valued staff members. We are working closely with HHM to facilitate a seamless transfer for all interested employees,” the Sept. 27 statement said.
As discussed in Explore Big Sky’s recent issue of “Making it in Big Sky,” Buck’s T-4 was purchased in 2020 by Lone Mountain Land Company. The local development company also purchased roughly 500 acres of land in Town Center in May 2022, and owns or operates a number of local hospitality businesses including Block 3, Tips Up, Montage Big Sky and the Wilson Hotel.
Buck’s new management expressed high hopes for integrating the classic roadhouse into other local hospitality offerings. Some recent discussions had included possible renovations.
“Buck’s T4 is a long-time valued business, and our aim is to find the perfect partner who shares our vision and values to execute this restaurant and its full potential,” the statement continued. “After which, we will make plans to reopen Buck’s T4 Restaurant and Bar.”
Buck’s T-4 was established in 1946 by Buck and Helen Knight. Initially a hunting camp, the addition of a restaurant and bar made Buck’s “a favorite Montana roadhouse for locals, hunters and tourists to Yellowstone National Park,” according to a history page on the Buck’s T-4 website.
The Knights sold to the Scholz family in 1972, and Mike Scholz ran the business for 34 years.
“He displayed the same pride of ownership demonstrated by the Knights, striving to fulfill both the Knights’ and his dream of making Buck’s T-4 a resort complex,” the website states. Buck’s T-4 became a well-regarded dance hall, dining destination and event space.
Scholz later partnered with David O’Connor and Chuck Schommer, working intermittently with the pair until retiring in 2013.
When Scholz sold his business for the second time in 2013—he’d first retired in 2006 before re-engaging in 2009—the website described that he was able to “once again pass the baton, this time from one family to two others.”
O’Connor and Schommer carried on the legacy until they sold the business in 2020.
“The baton has been passed once again,” the Buck’s T-4 website stated with regards to the 2020 acquisition. “This time, from two families to several families, still working together to create memorable experiences for our guests.”
With this uncertain closure, less may be known about the future of one of Big Sky’s oldest surviving establishments. For now, regulars of the roadhouse can keep an eye out for any plans to reopen.
