{"product_id":"riptide-club-miami-beach-1930s","title":"Riptide Club, Miami Beach 1930s","description":"\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIn the 1930s, Florida was a mecca for the Mob and was the southern capital of America’s organized crime syndicates.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eGangsters would winter there, often under false names, splashing the cash they made in the post-Prohibition era from illegal gambling and sports betting. Some put down roots and invested in businesses and palatial homes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eOne of the Mob’s favorite watering holes was the Riptide Club, opened on November 16, 1936.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThis upmarket nightclub, at 223 23\u003csup\u003erd\u003c\/sup\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eStreet in the Art Deco district of South Beach, was grandly billed as Florida’s Smartest Cocktail Bar and Grill and A Rendezvous for Who’s Who in America.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe Riptide was certainly a classy joint and this Art Deco menu cover shows a stunning redhead surfing the waves while raising a glass of champagne.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe venue was opened by Billy Cook and his partners Harris Leveson and Steve Folsom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eBilly was an Italian immigrant from Naples who had changed his name from Roberto Castranova. He had Mob ties and his brother Charlie was a big-time boxing promoter at Madison Square Garden.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eMany gangsters and their molls enjoyed socializing at the Riptide and one of the regulars was Robert “Big Bob” McCullough, who was a henchman for Al “Scarface” Capone, the most notorious gangster of them all. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThis Mob enforcer, whose name was linked to many crimes including the murder of a newspaper reporter, was often found drinking champagne at the bar in the Riptide or eating the steaks, omelettes and Chinese dishes sent out from the kitchen and helmed by a chef nicknamed Curly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eWe’re not sure when the Riptide closed but a relative of Billy’s told us an interesting story about the Riptide owner’s connections.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e When another member of the family opened a modest grocery store above his family’s living quarters in Youngstown, Ohio, his property was bombed when he refused to pay protection money to the Italian extortion racket called The Black Hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eBilly heard about his relative's troubles in Ohio, intervened and the family was never bothered again.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCourtesy Private Collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGallery quality Giclée print on natural white, matte, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using Epson K3 archival inks. Custom printed with border for matting and framing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eAll printed in USA.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb style=\"line-height: 1.2;\"\u003eEach print is accompanied by a copy of the interior menu or cover.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Love Menu Art","offers":[{"title":"8.5x11\" Archival Print (Unframed) $25.00","offer_id":57491695108262,"sku":"qnm1790051764745","price":19.75,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"11x14 Archival Print (Unframed) $30.00","offer_id":57491695141030,"sku":"caw1790051764746","price":19.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"13x19 Archival Print (Unframed) $40.00","offer_id":57491695173798,"sku":"lwh1790051764747","price":26.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"16x20 Archival Print (Unframed) $55.00","offer_id":57491695206566,"sku":"dki1790051764748","price":34.65,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"20x24 Archival Print (Unframed) $85.00","offer_id":57491695239334,"sku":"oey1790051764749","price":56.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"24x36 Archival Print (Unframed) $135.00","offer_id":57491695272102,"sku":"qww1790051764750","price":94.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0745\/9133\/8662\/files\/riptide-club-miami-beach-1930s_1.webp?v=1790051768","url":"https:\/\/coffeetamper.shop\/products\/riptide-club-miami-beach-1930s","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}