Venice is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it village tucked between Omaha and Yutan near the Platte River. Its handful of businesses includes Buck’s Bar and Grill, which serves plentiful food at reasonable prices. Their prime rib draws families and friend groups from miles around. Taco Tuesdays are also a big draw. 

This is exactly what you’d expect from a small-town dive bar that’s good at food. What you may not expect is that when the dinner crowds wind down, it transforms into a live music venue with a national reputation. Musicians from both coasts and everywhere in between want to play at this bar that’s so tiny it doesn’t even have a stage. Buck’s has gained a reputation as a launching pad, with Buck’s alumni selling out storied venues like Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium and appearing on national TV. Many have made it to the hallowed Grand Ole Opry.

That’s impressive for a bar that’s only been around since 2012. Buck Bennett never expected his business to snowball the way it did. “I wanted to have some live music, some karaoke and a little bit of food,” he said. 

Bennett moved from Stratton to the Omaha area roughly 30 years ago and was drawn to the thriving ’90s country music scene. He came by his love of country music honestly as a former bareback bronc rider who took the name Buck Bennett from a Chris LeDoux lyric. (His given name is Brad League.) 

“Omaha had five big honky tonks back then and I’d go to country dance,” Bennett said. “It was cool to get to see live music that we didn’t get in Stratton.” He saw big names like LeDoux, Merle Haggard, Kenny Chesney and the Dixie Chicks at the now-defunct Guitars and Cadillacs.

Today, musicians who got their start at Buck’s give the bar shout-outs from arena shows and even show up at the bar afterward. Indie country stars Cody Jinks and Ward Davis are legendary in Buck’s circles for making an unscheduled appearance when their large outdoor show was rained out.  

More recently, up-and-comer Tanner Usrey did a pop-up show at Buck’s after opening for Dierks Bentley at Omaha’s CHI Health Center Arena. It sold out and an overflow crowd in the parking lot waited to meet him. Small venues like Buck’s provide a rare chance to get close to artists without spending hundreds of dollars for VIP meet-and-greets. 

Buck’s reputation as a music mecca is only one of the things that makes it special. Nebraska’s small-town bars serve a vital role as gathering places, and Buck’s is no exception. Friendships are forged there. Birthday parties, baby showers and celebrations of life take place there. When asked what surprises him most after more than a decade in business, Bennett said, “It’s the culture, which kind of evolved on its own.”

The best example involves Buck’s most beloved patron, the late Carl Seieroe. Carl was a Friday night fixture into his 90s. He’d arrive on his golf cart, order coffee and a meal and hold court, asking the bands to play slow songs so he could dance with the ladies. When it was time for him to leave, everyone would yell “Good night, Carl” like he was Norm at Cheers.

There were many nights when Bennett, his staff or regulars gave Carl a ride or followed him home, especially in winter. “He’d show up on that golf cart when it was 10 below,” Bennett said. Buck’s patron Neil McAlexander shot a video inside his pickup while he followed Carl home one New Year’s Eve. It was 13 degrees, and they had to jump start Carl’s golf cart in the parking lot. “I hope when I’m over 90 years old I can be jamming at the honky tonk bar and asking all the ladies to dance,” McAlexander said in the video.

Carl died in June 2023 at age 93, and his family asked the Buck’s family to share pictures for his celebration of life. Many did and some attended his service. Quite a few didn’t even know Carl’s last name until Buck’s Facebook music group shared his obituary. As Buck’s regular Trish Ferryman noted, “Carl was epic like Cher! Only needed a first name.” 


Photograph by Buck’s Bar and Grill

Photograph by Buck’s Bar and Grill

Husker sports feature prominently in Nebraska’s culture, and Buck’s follows its seasonal rhythms. It has large TVs showing Husker games, and musicians adjust as needed. Indie country artist Jason Eady joked that he had never postponed the beginning of a set to accommodate a college volleyball game. He did at Buck’s (and the Huskers won). On football Saturdays, Bennett has learned the bar does well when the Huskers win and not great when they don’t. And if you’re a Husker football fan hoping to run into Coach Rhule somewhere, you may find the coach and music fan at Buck’s during the offseason.

Buck’s has also had to adapt to natural disasters. The massive flooding in spring 2019 covered the bar’s parking lot, stranding Bennett for a week in the RV he kept parked there. Musicians scheduled to play Buck’s were shifted to Chance Ridge in Elkhorn and the Dog House in Wahoo. Slowdown, a popular music venue in downtown Omaha, also offered their space. “Our venue is your venue,” owner Jason Kolbel told Buck. 

When Covid shut businesses down in 2020, Buck’s pivoted to takeout. “We created a system where we started taking orders at 2 and started cooking at 4,” Bennett said. A silver lining was being able to stagger prep and pickup times, unlike when the doors are open and a party bus shows up. “Takeout got so popular that when we opened again, we had to stop answering the phone because it just kept ringing. Even today, don’t look for carry out on Friday or Saturday.” 

Balancing the food and music sides of the business can be tricky, but it’s necessary. “I wouldn’t want to try survive just doing music,” Bennett said. “We started the Buck’s Music Facebook group because if we announce a band on the Buck’s Bar and Grill Facebook page, the food crowd won’t come.” And while music gets the lion’s share of social media attention, local foodies share praise for Buck’s food there.  

“With the restaurant, you want to be proud of the product you put out, but the music makes me happiest,” Buck said. “My business model is to have a place I want to go to and hopefully there will be other people like me.” His business model must be working, because there are plenty of people who keep coming back for Buck’s food and music.