Mike's Place

Mike's Place is an Israeli chain of bars and casual-dining venues associated with live music, a blues-oriented atmosphere, and locations serving both local residents and visitors. The first venue was opened in downtown Jerusalem in 1992 by Michael Vigodda, a photojournalist. Vigodda took the name from another Mike's Place bar at the Carleton University Students' Center in Ottawa, Canada. That Canadian venue had itself been named after Lester B. "Mike" Pearson, the former Canadian prime minister and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. The business changed ownership in 1995, when Israeli blues musician and vocalist Assaf Ganzman became an owner after Vigodda returned to Canada. This transition helped reinforce the venue's connection with blues music and performance culture. Mike's Place subsequently developed from a single Jerusalem bar into a multi-location Israeli chain. The Jerusalem venue moved within the city several times. In 1999 it relocated to the Russian Compound, and in 2005 it moved to Jaffa Road. A second branch opened in Tel Aviv in 2001, beside the American Embassy on the Tel Aviv beachfront. The Tel Aviv location became the site of a deadly suicide bombing on April 30, 2003, in which three civilians were killed and approximately 50 people were wounded. The attack became a defining event in the history of the Tel Aviv venue and the wider brand. The original Jerusalem branch closed on January 4, 2009, after the nineteenth-century building that housed it was demolished. Mike's Place returned to Jerusalem in October 2010 at another Jaffa Road location. That restaurant was described as the first Mike's Place franchise and was owned and operated by Jerusalem architect Reuben Beiser. The franchise structure indicates that the brand's locations were not necessarily operated under a single directly managed corporate system. By 2020, the chain had three listed branches: a Tel Aviv promenade venue, a Jerusalem venue, and an Eilat venue. The Jerusalem location is kosher. The other locations operate in predominantly secular areas, where Friday-night business is important; adopting kosher operating requirements at those sites would require closing during a commercially significant period. This distinction reflects the chain's adaptation to different local customer bases and religious-market conditions. Mike's Place is best understood as a location-based hospitality brand rather than a packaged-food or consumer-goods label. Its identity rests on bars, casual meals, drinks, music, and an informal social setting. Public reference material does not establish a current parent company, a public listing, a corporate headquarters, or a dedicated official website. The available historical account confirms the brand's Israeli presence and three-branch footprint as of 2020, but does not provide enough information to verify its present number of locations or current ownership arrangements.

Mike's Place began in 1992 when Michael Vigodda opened a bar in downtown Jerusalem. Vigodda was a photojournalist, and the venue's early identity was shaped by a combination of hospitality, music, and an international cultural reference. He borrowed the name Mike's Place from a bar at the Carleton University Students' Center in Ottawa, Ontario. The Ottawa name ultimately referred to Lester B. "Mike" Pearson, the Canadian statesman and former prime minister who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in helping defuse the Suez Crisis. In 1995, after Vigodda returned to Canada, Israeli blues musician and vocalist Assaf Ganzman became an owner. Ganzman's involvement connected the business more directly with the blues tradition that became central to the Mike's Place atmosphere. The venue then expanded beyond its first Jerusalem site. In 1999, the Jerusalem branch moved to the city's Russian Compound, and in 2005 it moved again to Jaffa Road. Expansion to Tel Aviv began in 2001 with the opening of a second branch beside the American Embassy on the city's beachfront. The Tel Aviv venue was attacked on April 30, 2003, in a Palestinian suicide bombing. Three civilians were killed and approximately 50 people were wounded. The incident is a major historical event associated with Mike's Place and forms part of the public history of the brand, although it was not a business decision or a product-related controversy. The Jerusalem operation later experienced another major change caused by the redevelopment or demolition of its premises. The branch closed on January 4, 2009, when the nineteenth-century building that housed it was demolished. Mike's Place resumed operations in Jerusalem in October 2010 at a different location on Jaffa Road. This new Jerusalem venue was described as the chain's first franchise and was owned and operated by Jerusalem architect Reuben Beiser. The move marked both a return to the city where the brand began and a shift toward a franchised operating model for at least one location. By 2020, the publicly described network consisted of three branches: a Tel Aviv promenade site, a Jerusalem site, and an Eilat site. The locations served different local environments. The Jerusalem branch was kosher, while the Tel Aviv and Eilat locations were situated in predominantly secular areas. The distinction had practical consequences: a kosher venue must close on Friday nights, a particularly important trading period for bars in secular parts of Israel. Mike's Place therefore represented a hospitality format adapted to local religious and commercial conditions rather than a uniform national operating template. The available reference material describes Mike's Place primarily as an Israeli chain of bars. It does not document a separate packaged product range, a publicly traded parent company, or a centralized corporate organization. Its brand assets are instead its physical venues, informal social setting, music orientation, drinks, and casual food service. The source confirms the three-location footprint as of 2020 but does not establish whether that footprint, ownership structure, or operating status remained unchanged afterward.

• 2020

  Three-branch footprint documented

  [1]Mike's Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material listed branches in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Eilat.

• 2010

  Jerusalem branch reopens as a franchise

  [1]Mike's Placeen.wikipedia.org

  A new Jerusalem Mike's Place opened on Jaffa Road in October. It was described as the chain's first franchise and was operated by Reuben Beiser.

• 2009

  Original Jerusalem branch closes

  [1]Mike's Placeen.wikipedia.org

  The Jerusalem branch closed on January 4 after the nineteenth-century building housing it was demolished.

• 2005

  Jerusalem branch moves to Jaffa Road

  [1]Mike's Placeen.wikipedia.org

  The Jerusalem branch relocated to Jaffa Road.

• 2003

  Tel Aviv venue is attacked

  [1]Mike's Placeen.wikipedia.org

  A suicide bombing at the Tel Aviv venue killed three civilians and wounded approximately 50 people on April 30.

• 2001

  Second branch opens in Tel Aviv

  [1]Mike's Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Mike's Place opened a second branch beside the American Embassy on the Tel Aviv beachfront.

• 1999

  Jerusalem branch moves to the Russian Compound

  [1]Mike's Placeen.wikipedia.org

  The Jerusalem bar relocated from its original downtown setting to the Russian Compound.

• 1995

  Assaf Ganzman becomes an owner

  [1]Mike's Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Israeli blues musician and vocalist Assaf Ganzman became an owner after Vigodda returned to Canada.

• 1992

  First Mike's Place opens in Jerusalem

  [1]Mike's Placeen.wikipedia.org

  Michael Vigodda opened the first Mike's Place bar in downtown Jerusalem.

An informal Israeli bar and casual-dining chain built around live music, blues culture, drinks, and a social atmosphere. The brand serves different local market contexts, including a kosher Jerusalem venue and primarily secular venues in Tel Aviv and Eilat.

• Casual dining and nightlife · 1992

  Mike's Place bar and restaurant venues

  The core offering is a network of physical bar and casual-dining locations rather than a packaged consumer product. The venues combine drinks, casual food, social gathering, and a music-led atmosphere associated with blues and live performance. The available source identifies locations in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Eilat, but does not provide a standardized menu or specific signature dishes.

• 2010

  Reopen the Jerusalem venue through a franchiseStrategy

  Background

  The Jerusalem branch had closed after demolition of the nineteenth-century building in which it operated.

  Action taken

  Mike's Place reopened at a new Jaffa Road location in October 2010, with the site described as the brand's first franchise and operated by Reuben Beiser.

  Aftermath

  The reopening restored a Mike's Place presence in Jerusalem and formed part of the three-branch footprint later documented for 2020.

  Source

1. 1Mike's Placeen.wikipedia.org