Maple City‘s Benchwarmers

June 27, 2007

Leelanau restaurant comes on strong with music scene

One of Northern Michigan’s liveliest new music scenes is “far out”
in more ways than one: it’s at the new Benchwarmers Bar and Grill in Maple City, buried in the heart of Leelanau County.
The rural restaurant in an historic red schoolhouse reopened last December under the ownership of Lee Ann Hecht, a 30-year veteran of the restaurant industry, and her husband Gary. Since that time, Benchwarmers has blossomed as mecca for acoustic music lovers.
Every Tuesday, you’ll find a lively open mic on the scene, presided over by Chris Skellenger and Sandy Blumenfeld. On Thursdays, the Rusty Blaides band holds forth, performing their mix of honky-tonk and old-school country sounds. Saturday nights frequently offer the Emotionally Impaired band. And on Sundays, Bruce Irwin fills the bill with distinctive vocals and a mix of covers and original songs.
Leelanau County has enjoyed a boom in acoustic music in recent years: Every Thursday, Bill Dunjien presides over one of the region’s best open mics at The Hayloft on M-72 West. The venue is often packed with players (who also serve as the audience). You’ll find many of the same pickers and strummers on Tuesdays at Benchwarmers. Add to that a new folk-rock scene at the Village Inn in Empire to complete a musical circuit in a rural area that once was distinguished more by cows than musicians.

DINING OPTIONIS
Benchwarmers bills itself as the place “where everyone gets to play.” And play they can, with TVs, a pool table, state-of-the-art jukebox and video games, and live music.
The menu makes extensive use of local ingredients and features several new twists on standard bar and grill fare. In addition to appetizers like nachos, potato skins and chicken wings, it lists six different choices in the “Super Bowl of Salads,” as well as homemade soups and potato chips, sandwiches, burgers and bratwurst (both beef and Plevalean), and vegetarian entrees. There are also daily food and drink specials.
There’s also a Friday night fish fry, steak dinners on Saturdays, and free pool on Sundays.
“We’re hoping to become a gathering place for the whole community and a destination for those further afield,” says Hecht. Word is getting out on the restaurant’s music scene, and during winter, snowmobile fans will likely count among the venue’s most regular customers, since Benchwarmer’s is located right at the end of the town’s sled trail.

Benchwarmers Bar and Grill is located at 172 West Burdickville Road in Maple City. For more information, call 231.228.4688 or visit www.mcbenchwarmers.com