Benny's: Putting Potomac on the Live Jazz Map

Supporting local, live jazz in Potomac is as easy as going out for a burger at Benny’s.

Benny’s Bar and Grill (7747 Tuckerman Ln., Potomac) opened in the Cabin John Shopping Center in April, and has offered live jazz on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights for about a month, owner Benson Fischer told Patch.

Already, the restaurant is seeing a steady rotation of musicians, many of whom play in more than one group, Fischer said. Generally, the music starts at 8:30 or 8:45 p.m. and goes until around 11 or 11:30 p.m.

Jazz groups usually include a saxophonist, double base player and keyboard player, and start out with smooth jazz for half an hour or so, then jam up to a livelier beat of modern jazz as the evening progresses.

Musicians playing at Benny's so far include Greg Meyer, Kim Reynolds and Bill Stat and The Turning Point.

Fischer is always looking for new musicians, but said that many musicians showing up to audition don't always fit with what Fischer is looking for, which is to make Benny's the "Bluebird of jazz in Potomac," after the famous Bluebird Cafe, known nationally as a songwriter performance venue in Nashville.

"There are a lot of quality musicians in this market who have very few places to play," Fischer told Patch. Benny's is a place for the musicians to "let loose in the evenings and weekends," Fischer added.

Fischer hopes to expand the live jazz nights from Thursday through Saturday to Tuesday through Saturday, and—eventually—to seven nights a week.

Benny's—like The Bluebird Cafe—appears unassuming from the outside (both are in strip malls outside of large metropolitan centers), but it serves well-received, classic American dishes, like burgers, lobster rolls, salads, sundaes and house-made fries. Actually, all of the food is made in-house, Patch reported last month.

Fischer also plans to expand Benny's offerings to include breakfast and take-out, which requires reconfiguring some equipment in the kitchen, Fischer said. 

So far, the restaurant has been "crushed with the amount of people coming," he added.

Follow Benny's Bar and Grill on Facebook for the the restaurant's latest updates.