ABOUT / HISTORY
Hank Dietle’s Tavern opened In 1950, in the Offutt’s General Store building dating to 1916. Being the first bar to reopen after prohibition, it had the honor of receiving Montgomery County’s beer and wine license #001. Customers still come in and reminisce about the good old days at Dietle’s. Regulars from the 1970’s recall folks riding horses from River Road., tying them to the hitching post and having a drink. A classic dive bar in every sense of the word, Hank Dietle’s Tavern became a community mainstay on Rockville Pike, where generations of people had their first beer or stopped in for a six-pack to go on the way home.
Hank Dietle’s Tavern survived virtually unchanged during the gentrification of the neighborhood as the upscale White Flint Mall opened across the Pike. Long-time customer Tony Huniak took over the business in 1990, running the bar for nearly thirty years and introducing live music on Saturdays. When Rockabilly Saturday Night needed a new home after Quarry House Tavern in Silver Spring was damaged by fire, Tony welcomed the event to Hank Dietle’s Tavern in 2015.
Hank Dietle’s Tavern suffered a devastating fire of its own in February of 2018. Chantal “Kiti” Gartner and Mark Segraves launched a reconstruction effort and benefit concert, rallying the community to donate and contribute their skills to the rebuilding effort. The current ownership team of Tommy Bowes, Sarah Bonner and Alan Kresse took over the business and rebuilding project in the summer of 2019.
While plans to open in May of 2020 were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the tavern finally was able to reopen in July of 2021, and was again issued its original beer and wine license #001. In addition to the beer and wine options, Hank Dietle’s Tavern now offers food, including a selection of sandwiches, dips and salads, available until midnight. Like the original Dietle’s, the new Hank Dietle’s Tavern has a jukebox and sells six-packs to go.
As longtime supporters of and participants in Maryland’s music and dance scene, the new ownership team built on the success of the original Rockabilly Saturday Night to create an intimate venue with live music programming seven nights a week and at happy hours. Fans of live roots and retro music are once again able to enjoy and support the local music community as well as national touring acts in this historic neighborhood roadhouse.
Additional history here:
Bethesda Magazine article March/April/2022
The Washington Post article 2001
Podcast - Sarah Bonner on Restoring a cultural icon