Mickey Ruskin

Bernard Michael Ruskin (May 8, 1933 – May 16, 1983), known as Mickey Ruskin, was an American restaurateur, nightlife impresario, and arts patron. He is best known for founding and operating the influential New York City bar-restaurant-club Max's Kansas City, which opened in 1965 and became a pivotal gathering place for visual artists, poets, musicians, and the counterculture.

Ruskin originally studied to become a lawyer, but soon shifted into operating coffeehouses and bars in Manhattan's East Village and Greenwich Village — including the Tenth Street Coffeehouse, Les Deux Mégots, and the Ninth Circle — before opening Max's. He later opened a couple of other successful places like The Lower Manhattan Ocean Club and Kipling's Last Resort (later renamed Chinese Chance) before his death at 50 in 1983.

Biography

Early life and education Bernard Michael Ruskin was born on May 8, 1933, in Jersey City, New Jersey. After graduating from Cornell Law School in 1958 and passing the New York bar, he worked as a lawyer for a year while living in uptown Manhattan with Sharon, who would become his first wife. Ruskin soon realized office life wasn't for him. He then spent a year and a half in pre-med, earning strong grades and a spot at a top medical school, before deciding that another white-collar career wouldn’t make him any happier. Mégots means "cigarette butts" in French—a playful twist on Les Deux Magots café in Paris. The café quickly became a hub for poets and artists. Nearly every New York poet—except perhaps Allen Ginsberg—read at Les Deux Mégots. The place closed in 1963, and Paradox, a macrobiotic restaurant-teahouse, opened at the same location in 1964. Warhol, who often arrived with a group of his "superstars," called Max's the "ultimate hangout." Ruskin was an art fan, so Warhol offered artworks in exchange for dining credit, allowing his entourage to sign for their meals until the credit was depleted. In 1974, Max's filed for reorganization through voluntary bankruptcy proceedings and closed later that year. Ruskin sold the establishment in 1975, and it soon reopened under new ownership that same year.

In order to handle the overflowing crowds at Max's, Ruskin opened the Longview Country Club across the street from Max's on 19th Street and Park Avenue South in 1968. In 1969, the Longview Country Club became Levine's Restaurant. Ruskin created a menu that included traditional Irish-Jewish-Canadian dishes, including matzo ball soup, Irish lamb stew, and salmon steak Halifax, referencing artist Les Levine's multiethnic heritage. Levine accepted Ruskin's offer of $2,500 in food and 5% of future earnings for the use of his name.

His next club was The Locale on Waverly Place, which he opened with partner Richard Sanders in 1975. Sanders kept The Locale and Mickey went on to open The Lower Manhattan Ocean Club, on Chambers Street in TriBeCa in 1976. It was later called Chinese Chance, which Ruskin operated until his death. According to his friend, writer Linda Yablonsky, he had grown increasingly depressed, began using heroin, and ultimately died from a fatal drug combination. He was survived by his wife, Kathryn; three daughters, Nina, Victoria and Jessica; a son, Michael; his parents, May and Victor Ruskin, and a sister, Phyllis Hoberman.