For over 27 years, Jack & Benny’s has served as a University District staple. The greasy spoon and its all-day-breakfast menu draws diners from Ohio State University and beyond.
The name Jack & Benny’s goes back even further. In 1954, Jack Sher and Benny Klein opened Columbus’ first Jack & Benny’s diner downtown, at Broad and High streets.
Klein then opened a second restaurant at the intersection, Benny Klein’s Charcoal Steak House, three years later. A tunnel — plus a continuous conveyor belt washing dishes — connected the two restaurants.
Enter Geno Garcia Sr. Sher and Klein hired Garcia after he came to Columbus in 1970, affording Garcia the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the restaurant business.
So when Garcia opened his own restaurant in the Old North area of campus in 1994, he named his diner Jack & Benny’s, in honor of the two restauranteurs and their namesake eatery.