Empire made of beer: Mike Zislis, the South Bay’s Brew King
Mike Zislis at the gates of his expanding empire. Photo Mike Zislis has built an empire. He and the Zislis Group, which includes his mysterious, seldom seen brother Dave, have largely remade downtown Manhattan Beach. The Shade Hotel is the cornerstone of the thriving Metlox Plaza development and has proven to be as much a community gathering point as it is a hotel. Zislis restaurants include Rock ‘n Fish, Mucho Ultima, and the recently opened and startlingly ambitious Strand House. His understanding of successful South Bay highlife is so unparalleled that the city of Redondo Beach’s hopes of revitalizing its harbor hinge greatly upon the Shade Hotel, slated to open there in two years. If Zislis builds it, the reasoning goes, people will come. His is an empire built on beer, one that began taking shape when he was a 13-year-old boy in Rolling Hills appropriating, empty five gallon Pepsi kegs in order to make home brews. “I was at the orthodontist’s office and saw in Popular Science a beer kit for $15,” Zislis said. “I went to the post office and mail-ordered it and started making beer. I kind of had to convince my parents it was an algae experiment, but it was strictly for drinking…
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