Friday, December 17th, 2010—Bar 341
Day 341—Thursday, December 16th, 2010
Max Fish
First off thanks to Beth Robinette who has sent in a generous donation of 20 dollars here on the home stretch. She found the site through her friend Rick Halberg, so I thank both of you. Beth wanted me to mention the fine website, Atlanta Culinary Tours and whoops, I just did! Check out this site here: Atlanta Culinary Tours. Thanks for the donation, Beth, you’re helping me make it to the bitter end here on the bar crawl.
And speaking of bitter ends, Max Fish is a bar that has been a fixture in the East Village since 1989. I remember going there in the mid ‘90’s when you couldn’t find an ATM anywhere in the East Village. Now sadly, the area is slowly turning into one huge cash machine. The bar is owned by German artist, Ulli Rimkus and sadly her greed-head, dick-snot landlord tripled her rent and is forcing her and the bar out of the neighborhood and a death knell is sounded for another East Village landmark. Ulli said in an interview with Grub Street that she plans on finding a new place and re-opening and keeping it the same as it ever was. I hope she can pull it off, it’s sad it’s closing and I dread to even wonder what will go into that space. Yesterday, Jeremiah Moss advised me to check it out soon, so here we go.
Here we are, over 30 years on the block and then the landlord triples your rent and you're fucked.
Wow, it's after one in the morning and there's still a huge crowd in here.
It's packed at the bar, but there's no turning back now.
I finally made it to the bar and here's Daniel, the funny and friendly bartender who not only posed behind the bar...
He climbed up on the bar...
Almost there...
Baboom! The 365 card is flashed from atop the bar. Daniel told me it's pictures like this that continually get him fired. Luckily Ulli rehires him afterwards.
And he captured a shot of me from up there. Cheers to Daniel, a great bartender!
I managed to squirm into a seat at the bar and here's a shot from my perspective.
Here's a full shot of the bar.
Daniel's chatting with a couple of people at the bar, let's go meet them.
This is Anton who's a photographer and you can check out his work here: Anton Perich. Anton's work has appeared in Interview magazine and he publishes his own magazine, NIGHT magazine.
Andrea is working on a TV program with Anton. She's an actress and an artist and a regular at Max Fish.
Happy birthday Max Fish. Sadly, the last one in this location, thanks to a greedy-ass landlord.
Some festive decorations above the bar.
A nod to the past, a graffiti covered pay phone.
Blue banquettes and polka dot wallpaper line the wall opposite the bar.
Some art and photography on the walls. Max Fish has always supported local artists and shown original work on the walls of the bar.
More photos next to a mod painting on the wall.
The back room has a pool table and a jukebox with an eclectic selection of tunes.
However, the jukebox was off this evening because a DJ was spinning tunes.
Here she's getting the next selection ready. She told me her name and I forgot to write it down. Yes, I've had several drinks by now.
Two turntables and a microphone.
Meanwhile back at the bar the night moves along.
Malik walked in and approached the bar.
And bought shots for the two of us. Thanks and cheers to Malik!
Okay, time to say goodnight to Max Fish.
Max...
Fish. Goodnight, everybody.
Review
There’s no sense in reviewing Max Fish since it’s going to be closed in about eight weeks. Instead I applaud Ulli Rimkus for creating a space where artists and free-thinking people could gather, drink, share ideas and display their works. The cliental has changed somewhat since the bar has opened, but some of the old regulars remain and it stills retains a vibe of the East Village of yesterday. I wish Ulli all the best luck finding a space for the new Max Fish and I raise a glass to the old one. The New York Times reports that on the last night, January 31st, the staff plans on painting the walls in pitch black paint. Paint it black, people, paint it black. Cheers to Ulli Rimkus and Max Fish.
Max Fish
178 Ludlow St. (Near Houston St.)
212-529-3959
1 Reference
Reader Comments (18)
Glad you stayed,,,usually you walk out when its that crowded and we listen to Ricky. Those greedy landlords, how can they triple the rent when a recession is forcing all kinds of businesses to close and they should be happy to have Max Fish there. I would of gave them a new lease at the same rate because now you have an unoccupied space that could stay that way for a long time, what's that saying,,"one in the hand is better than two in the bush".
What a cool looking place...I absolutely LOVE the light fixture above the snowmen. Can't wait to see you in Peoria, mate!
And thanks for the shout out, dude...You'll have to meet Beth sometime...she's the best!
Landlords get greedy and don't understand consistency.
and
then
things sit empty with for lease signs on them.
I think I love the bartender.. wow..
he is awesome.
a chicks version of coyote ugly:)
every bar i ever worked in had a fun bartender
without a fun bartender you might as well put up vending machines with beer. cuase peopel will drink more with the right bartender.
WTG Martser!
I am so soryy that Max Fish is going out of biz, it looks like such a cool bar. Wow I love the great atmosphere and friendly people.
I can't help but think that Anton looks a bit like Andy Warhol and he tooks pics for Interview magazine. fascinating.
Looks like a very popular place, hopefully they will be able to open up somewhere else and keep their vibe going. Daniel looks like a really fun guy.
Cheers Max Fish!.... Cheers Ulli Rimkus!!...fuck-u dick-snot landlord!!!!.....Cheers to you Marty for exposing just another fine example of a fucked up greedy injustice......
@Everybody: Not only is the landlord a greedy-ass fuck, he wanted her to sign a lease that would give him the rights to the name, Max Fish. And he wanted to up the rent to $20,000 a month! She charges three bucks for a can of Pabst. You know what kind of place moves into a $20,000 a month space? A place that charges 20 bucks for a beer and the place is populated with a bunch of entitled assholes that can afford something like that. That's how neighborhoods and landscapes change. Motherfucker! But, more importantly, Fitzy! Where the fuck have you been, mate? And good to see Tiki Bar Susie back in the fold as well. I get nervous when some of you go missing!
TRIPLED THE RENT?!?! Hey, somebody aught to check the law books on this one ,Marty that sounds like it might be illegal as hell...or it should be. Greedy fucks.
Whatever happened to Barry the Koala ???
@ Fitzy; Yeah...lets see some pictures of Barry...preferably one of Barry scratching his nuts in front of some American lady tourists! Time's running out for the crawl!
@Jaws: MVP !!!! That made me chuckle !!!
BARRRRY! BARRRY!! BARRRRY!!! BOOYA!!!
Name rights?!?! What a fuck. Glad you got to stop in there, Marty. Wish I could've tagged along. TO ULLI AND MAX FISH AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS EVERYWHERE!
P.S. I like the DJ's hat.
greedy landlords suck! :( i'm glad you made it here before it closed, it looks like a fun place with fun people. and i'll join the daniel praise party! LOL!
Another great stop along the Crawl!
Crowded perhaps, but a fun crowd!
That makes a huge difference.
Landlords?
The Coup was right.
http://ny.eater.com/archives/2011/01/ludlow_shocker_iii_max_fish_to_stay_for_another_year.php
Max Fish lives another year ......
@GENE: That is good news indeed! Thanks for the update!