Is This The Greatest Tiki Bar In The World?
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- Опубліковано 14 вер 2023
- This is the first of many tiki bar tours. Owner, Mark Sellers, gives us an exclusive in-depth tour of one of the greatest tiki bars in the world!
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Ok. I’m a general contractor/carpenter and have a REAL appreciation for the bamboo work in those ceilings. That said, I’ll be traveling from California to Traverse City next spring for a job, and will be making it a point to visit Max’s.
I love these bar/restaurant tours! The more I learn about the art the more I jones for it. I've seen videos about dingbat apartment complexes with tiki styling, it's such a shame that whole themed apartment thing went away, but I'm so happy those tikis were saved and live here. Thank you!
There are still a bunch of tiki-themed apartment buildings. I'm planning on exploring those soon(ish)!
This place is my GO-TO for Tiki. It is a fantastic destination and it does the Tiki Culture justice. Be sure to ask for Derek- he is for real!
I go here often and now that I know all that went into it, I have an even bigger appreciation for it!
It really is incredible
Actually, there is still one authentic tiki bar that still survives in Michigan, Chin's Restaurant outside of Detroit in Livonia. Though it's a Cantonese restaurant, and not so much a tiki bar anymore, it still has all the original decor. 😃
Amazing!
dude you should really be putting the bar's info in the description
Just an amazing place. It's almost like a museum/bar/restaurant.
Just visiteed their Website and the vitual walkthrough. Really rerally tasteful and very well done. The interior design process teken on this project is exceptional. Just need to fly over from the other side of the pond and experience it for myself.
21:16 From my town!!!!! I remember Imperial House as a kid....!
This place is amazing, & might even better than the Mai Kai which will be opening soon after years of renovations.....would love to visit this place some day!
OMG!!! THIS PLACE LOOKS AMAZING!!!! Bucket list destination!!!
If I’m ever in Grand Rapids… this will be the reason why.
This is utterly AMAZING!!! This Bar/restaurant is more like a museum! Thanks to your coverage of this gem, I find this place is only 6 hours drive away from me! I'm planing out a trip down there for SURE!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
An astounding accomplishment & iconic joint - especially given that it's in a tiny city surrounded by 500K dairy farms in place known only for Gerald Ford & Betsy DeVos, and has absolutely never been on anyone in the world's dream vacation/high culture/must see travel itinerary. It's really overwhelming how much cool stuff is crammed in there, and all of it top level. What a surreal red brick temple of dedication to the legacy of tiki pop! Just amazing. Kalamazoo & Gargoyles too!
Absolutely.
This was a great tour of an incredible bar. Thanks so much Spike
What a fantastic collection… Much more like a Tiki museum I must say. The passion and love of Tiki clearly shows in this collection and this man's love for it.
Couldn't agree more!
Tiki bars are GREAT for places that get cold weather. It enhances the escapism by magnitudes. I would argue CA hardly needs them although that is where most of them still survive(lucky you). It broke my heart when the Trader Vics in the basement of the Palmer House Hilton closed. Need to start planning my trip to Grand rapids ;)
I totally agree. Cold locales are the best for tiki.
Was able to visit Seller's prior tiki bar TikiCat in Kansas City. Another great spot! Nowhere near Max's level but right at the top of my fav tiki bars then. Shame it closed down but noticed a few things in Max's from there living on. Heard they were trying to get the old Don the Beachcomber in socal for Max's but the owner wanted an insane amount of money. Gotta make it out to Grand Rapids!
Did we mention the DtB thing in the video? Mark and I definitely spoke about that while I was there (maybe not on camera though).
@@BreezewayCocktailHour I believe in the video you and Mark just mentioned they were looking at socal as a possible spot. I remembered listening to Adrian's podcast when he had Martin and Mark on. They thought they had a deal to take over the DtB location. Would've had to tear down the building (salvage anything historical they could) since the current building is a mess and rebuild a similar A-frame looking building. But then the owner didn't want to lease the land for this and had to buy it at a crazy price. Kinda sad thinking what could have been, but seems like Max's has found its home in Grand Rapids. I remember they also were planning tiki-themed AirBnb rental units above Max's but doesn't look like that's happened yet.
Wow! What a fabulous collection currated into an AMAZING PLACE! 😁
27:15 The top picture is on the "Exotic moods of Les Baxter" album. Great compilation!
Man, I'm a nube to tiki for sure, but also for sure, this bar surpasses anything I've seen or imagined. Kudos! Kudos! Kudos!
Wish I could give this episode more than one thumbs-up....
Thanks so much.
Been here, loved it! Great to see it showed off!
Spike, I've been there three times and you've really done it justice. Thanks!
Thank you so much!
Wow! What an amazing bar!!
The atomic lounge part is so cool. Especially the world map. Really caught my eye.
Totally a departure from the rest of the place. It's really cool.
Thanks for the great tour of what has to be one of the greatest bars ever. I visited Gecko while he was carving those tikis. Great to see them again.
The place is AMAZING!
Absolutely incredible documentation of the rooms and pieces within. Super informative. Beautiful tiki bar.
Thanks so much!
Good tour video, Spike. We spent two nights at Max's a couple of years ago. Absolutely amazing Tiki palace. And Mark is a great guy. Purchased several pieces of artwork from him that now hang in the Cannibal Lounge, including one of those black Playa del Rey apartment building tikis by Bumatay and a Leeteg velvet painting. Hoping to get back to Max's soon.
Oh yes. The best I’ve seen. A new bucket list entry.
Fantastic tour! It will be great to see some more of these videos spotlighting 21st century Tiki temples, which deserve their own special category and shouldn't be compared with The Mai-Kai and others from the mid-20th century. These new places are much more DIY passion projects, which is great. Inferno Room next? FYI: The Mai-Kai does have some of those vintage yellow jade tiles.
Totally... and yes, the Inferno Room will be coming soon!
I can't wait til Mai Kai re-opens after $5M+ renovation in Sept!!!!
I only heard of this place's existence, never saw it's glory til now :) Thank you Spike!! I'll have to plan a visit now
Glad you could come walk through with us!
Such a cool place. So much detail. We went two nights in a row when we were there just to soak it in. I didn’t realise they sold copies of their menu and only nabbed a hoodie and T.
I kept saying "WoW!" at every turn on their tour! Spectacular! I have to make a trip out there!!
It's worth a trip to Michigan... Really.
Been there a few times. Wonderful place.
WOWZA...I hope I have some wild dreams tonight...AMAZING...!
I will have to check this place out someday! Looks incredible
Amazing!
Incredible looking bar!
I was there last year (before catching Los Straightjackets at the Tip-Top Deluxe -- fun place by the way) and just wanted to what an excellent job you did really touring every aspect... wish I knew some of this history and background before we went! Love to hear KYMM BANG! get a shout-out! Hope to see you tour Hala Kahiki and/or Three Dots some day out here in Chicagoland. Can't wait to see more tiki tours!
Really great video, Spike! I really want to go to this place someday!
It really is worth the trip to Michigan.
Very cool tour ... would love to see a collection of these tours of the across the country
... The max south sea website offers a nice virtual tour
great tour / great conversation ... looking forward to the next ... Thanks Spike
My hope is to visit as many of these places as I can!
Video was so helpful to sell the magic of this place. Will definitely work in a trip!
Yesss
Great Tiki Bar!!!
This really is an fantastic place; I really must try to get to the US one day and visit it.
OK, I love this post, love the Tiki culture, and planning to build a Tiki Bar on my 10x30 ft. deck but,this post has made me realize how ignorant I am on Tiki artist, and famous bar locations, Tiki culture in general. I need to dive into research and steal, I mean, make my own Tiki environment for enjoyment. Max's is like a Smithsonian of Tiki with 35 special drinks. I hope I get a chance to visit Max's for research. I've alot to learn and looking forward to the journey.
There are many many layers to tiki. If you don't already have them, I'd recommend any of the books by Sven Kirsten and the recent book by Jordan Reichek about Oceanic Arts. A wealth of inspiration and knowledge.
WOW!!! I have gone to Tiki Heaven. What a fantastic place. Aloha😍😍
It's so good!
I am going to make it a point to go here ASAP! Such a beautiful place
Well now I know why I can't find anything tiki to buy. This guy bought everything! Amazing collection!! And not in California. Love it!
lol
Awesome 👍👍👍🌴🌴
You know what is so amazing, if you have ever tried to carve Koa wood from Hawaii, you would understand how amazing those artists were, it is hard to carve Koa with steel tools, try it with stone tools.........amazing place, might have to go up there and check that place out!! Thanks for sharing:)
Wow, great episode!
Thank you!
Grand Rapids is an unfortunate place for this awesome collection. In GR it’s a gimmick but in a place like Palm Springs, tiki is a way of life.
When I was here, they only had the second floor open. Didn’t know how much I missed out on seeing. Guess I need to go back!
Yeah, it's amazing.
Wow that place is great
When you can afford to drop $459,150 just on a Tiki collection it's easy to build a bar like that. I would LOVE to know exactly how much that place cost to get built.
I'm sure it was a million dollar build (at least).
Wow! my jaw dropped!!
Absolutely beyond amazing. I’d love to hang out in Notch’s Nook and take in the nautical warehouse with a couple drinks.
Spike, you have to come back a few more times so you can finish the drink menu and get your plaque on the boat bar. My wife and I are now part of Max's decor!
Dude this bar is just an hour away from where I live
Lucky!
Totally!
insanely cool place, and I love your videos! A few armchair notes from someone unqualified: if you brought a camera man I think it would free you up to focus on being the personable tv host that you are. A more walking interview style would suit you. exploring the bar's décor together to dig for those incredible stories which lie behind them. Maybe a detached mic to improve sound quality while your camera zooms in on features or turns to get nice room views. Also bar lighting is always pretty dark, a soft light might help your camera out a lot.
take that all with a grain of salt, I own no camera and am no video man.
The Mark Ryden prints at 27:02 are cover art for compilation albums released by Capitol Records in the mid 1990's as part of their Ultra-Lounge series. The lower print is the cover for "The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny". The upper print is the cover for "The Exotic Moods of Les Baxter". Both are 2-disc compilations. The original release of the Les Baxter album is a collector's item.
I remember that series! Great era for Capitol Records.
@@BreezewayCocktailHour For completion of thought, I believe Mark Ryden did additional paintings for other albums, but they weren't necesssarily tiki. "The Romantic Moods of Jackie Gleason" comes to mind.
THE AMOUNT OF MONEY!!!!! Holy smokes. Just incredible.
Seriously.
Let’s see…house the homeless…feed the hungry…or, open a GIANT TIKI BAR!! Hmmmm…what to do…?? 🙄😒😣#hatetherich
Ryden prints - one was the cover for the Best Of Les Baxter comp (Pele) and the other the Best Of Martin Denny (Exotica) on Capitol
That's right, thanks!
Damn I gotta make a trip there next time I’m in Chicago
That Tiki world map! Holy smokes...I'm going to Grand Rapids.
This is your greatest achievement...
Tvs and music with the right content dont hurt a tiki bar at all
I kind of agree with you. I'd prefer no TVs, but there are plenty of tiki bars across the country who play my Tiki Weirdoland DVD that I developed specifically for tiki bars.
@@BreezewayCocktailHour does that include Frankie's? That's my favorite tiki bar. I love that crazy footage on their tvs.
Okay, I’m going to Grand Rapids. Now we know the history behind the 3K jade tiles that are spread out across the world. I have one of them!
Me too!
Great video if this doesn’t make you want to go to Grand Rapids nothing will!
But, What About The Cheese!
After sitting down undistracted and watching this video again (my wife might smack me for saying this) who cares about the cheese this place is so next level it is crazy. I’m going to have to go for at least 3 or 4 days to be able to really appreciate it all
Hahaha... I really do think that this restaurant should be a destination for all tiki-philes
As it turns out there are a bunch of Tiki carvers in France!
Great job. What camera were you using?
Sony A7SIV
can I get a parts list for this place? I'm going to make a poolhouse into a tiki bar.
Amazing! Did you see any puffer fish or shrunken heads? I like that there are no TVs at all.
I don't recall any shrunken heads (maybe just a painting of one) but there must have been puffer fish in there somewhere??
I think the swamp monster is perfect, I love the Devo cat too.
Beautiful place but the shaky cam is making me motion sick. Sorry. Had to bail.
Makes me miss Tiki Cat... Come back to KC, Mark.
On the downside, I live over 2000 miles from Max’s. On the upside, my best friend lives but an hour away from the bar.
Perfect reason to visit.
Hey Spike maybe mention the name of the Bar and Location at the beginning of the Video so I know where it is if I want to visit the place.
omg, did I not do that?? lol... shoot.
Where can I find this place?
Aloha!
So many ideas to steal! Awesome place.
Here's to hope that he will send Spike 1 of the 15 tikis from the Tiki's apartments,👍
Haha... you hear that, Mark?? Pleeeease...
For all who've never been, Grand Rapids is a great city for beer lovers with some great craft breweries. In September each year, it also hosts ArtPrize.
OMG, did I just see a Sleestack?
BEWARE THE SLEESTAK!
@@russdee333 WILL . . . . . HOLLY . . . .
Super impressive, what a fantastic place! I wonder what his capital investment totaled?
It wasn't cheap, I can tell ya that!
Only 35 drinks?
You need more? lol
All I could think of was Sponge Bob
Where's this at? Where is the website? I can't find it.
Grand Rapids, Michigan
“This place “ …..uh so ….what’s the Name of “this place “
Just revisted this episode, and missed the Illuminat iPyramid with all seeing eye at the top, last time. Think I'll give this Bar a miss after all!
LMAO at no info on the bar in the video details. Good job!
Oh shoot, I need to update that... but also, maybe that's a reason to watch?
Why was the pandemic so tough on bars? If you drank something you were immune
Hahahaha...
It’s really nice, but it has too much of a museum vibe and that takes away from the fantasy. Trader Vic’s Emeryville is something of a museum also (of Trader Vic’s/Hinky Dinks fixtures) but still maintains the fantasy.
Is it all Polynesian? Some people think all masks are but they aren't. African masks are beautiful but have no place in a Tiki bar.
I'd have to look again, but I don't recall seeing any African masks in there.
Greatest in the world? Laughable. Maybe in Michigan. Don't get me wrong, it's very impressive. Ground zero for Tiki is the Tiki-Ti in Hollywood.
you are right about tiki starting out in Los Angeles but this place is awesome.
Terrible lighting
It’s called ambiance. Go to a food court if you want good lighting.
So... were you being a Dick to dude laughing and shaking your head at dudes Tiki mugs he custom makes?
A dick to him? No. If I was shaking my head, it was because it is unheard of for a restaurant to have their own on-site ceramics studio. Mark is a buddy of mine.
I've never thought I'd ever want to visit Michigan, but after this... ❤❤ (Had to subscribe)