Mickey Ruskin opened Max's Kansas City in December 1965 and in a very short time, the venue just became literally the epicenter of what New York City could offer in terms of music, art and poetry at that time. Regulars include Roy Lichtenstein, Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Philip Glass, Allen Ginsberg, Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe, David Bowie, Iggy Pop and The Velvet Underground are just few examples among many more artists and writers. Art patron and owner Mickey Ruskin ran Max's Kansas City until December 1974. New owner Tommy Dean Mills reopened Max's Kansas City in 1975, and Peter Crowley started booking punk bands that played at CBGB. This new era continued the legacy of the venue, with New York Dolls, the B-52's, Sid Vicious (Sex Pistols), Patti Smith Group, Blondie (singer Debbie Harry has also been a waitress there), etc., until November 1981. In 2001, the non-profit Max's Kansas City Project was established in the memory of Mickey Ruskin. Yvonne Sewall-Ruskin maintains the philosophy of her late husband, by helping artists in need.