If you see a bearded, blue-collar business owner who works hard and plays hard, it might just be Dallas Bennett of Bennett Guitar Company, tucked away in Artisan Forge Studios. Bennett opened the full-service fretted instrument repair shop in 2018, offering consigned instruments and new products. “If it’s work, it is long hours and late nights,” the music enthusiast said. “If it is play, it is getting lost on a lake or river, chasing fish, or driving a local disc golf fairway. And – of course – strumming a few strings along the way.”

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What's your name?

Dallas Bennett.

Neighborhood you live in, city:

South side of Eau Claire.

How long have you lived in the Chippewa Valley?

On and off for 20 years.

Describe a rewarding experience you’ve had in your current job.

Every day I get to go to work is rewarding. Every customer is a privilege (to work with) and (is) very fulfilling to me.

What is the best guitar you’ve ever played?

Truth is I love them all. Stringed instruments have a way of plucking at my soul.

What is the worst guitar you’ve ever had to fix?

I once cleaned a guitar with 1/16” thick layer of aged cigarette tar over the entire instrument. Took six hours just disassemble, clean, and reassemble.

What place in town considers you a “regular”?

Cousins Subs.

What’s your passion?

Music, art, the outdoors, gardening, fishing, and disc golf.

What is one of the best experiences you’ve had in the Chippewa Valley?

Playing the local disc golf courses – and sharing enjoyment with the people that play them.

What is your favorite piece of local trivia?

I love that Eau Claire was originally a major lumber town with two large rivers, as well as two major forest systems – and that a lot of the old-style Victorian houses were built by the lumberjacks.

Rock Fest or Country Fest?

Rock Fest.

What is one locally created song you wish could be blasted through downtown Eau Claire every day for a year?

“Run Rabbit Run” by The Rock Creek Song Dogs.

What do you think the Chippewa Valley really needs?

Better designed intersections.

If you could play Kubb with one person from Eau Claire, who would it be?

My old classmate Nick, who just finished third in the world.

Death bed, one meal from a local restaurant, what would it be?

Mother’s Day brunch from Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse.