About me
Michael Tipps has over 30 years of experience working, managing, and consulting in all facets of the hospitality world (throughout all positions, and most venue types including hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and fast service). Michael Tipps’s Career started in Hospitality in South Florida where he worked in almost every front of the house position in the corporate food and beverage world. By the time Michael turned 19, he set his sights on New York City, and has been trailblazing ever since. Michael started behind the bar at the prestigious Tribeca Grand Hotel (Grand Life Hotels) where he consistently demonstrated his unique abilities and worked his way up – ultimately securing a managerial position at a remarkably young age, at one of the most well-known venues in Manhattan. Michael was responsible for creating multiple food and beverage programs intended to increase revenue, while also cutting costs and improving the bottom line. What Michael relished most though was the challenge of creating innovative ways to improve guest services while at the same time creating the most effective ways to get the best out of the staff he was responsible for.
By the young age of 23, Michael was fortunate enough to work with and be trained in the essentials of classic cocktails, by the person responsible for bringing the “mixology” craze back to the United States – Sasha Petraske, of Milk & Honey fame. Michael expanded his knowledge of the hospitality business by taking on the challenge of working with different types of venues, ranging from high end lounges, to boutique hotels, to nightclubs, and to dive bars. With Michael’s knowledge and experience, he soon came to realize (like Many others), that New York City is the Mecca of Hospitality, before leaving New York Michael worked under the guidance of Ian Nicholson while managing the “Grand” bar at the Soho Grand hotel. It was during this time that Michael cemented a greater understanding of building “self-managing” teams and hospitality standards.Since 2006 Michael began Consulting all over the country helping operators in all types of markets, succeed.
Based upon Michael’s experience and expertise, Michael made appearances on Paramount Network’s “Bar Rescue” as a master mixologist and bar expert, and also traveled across the country with TV celebrity, John Taffer, and Chef Brian Duffy on the “Nightclub & Bar University Rescue Tour”. Michael has been a contributing writer, Speaker, and advisory Board member for the Bar & Restaurant Expo for many years . As Michael became involved in more complex projects, he came to realize that whether large or small, simple or complicated, the underlying issues with his suffering projects were generally very similar – especially as they related to concept creation, design, location, construction, management, operations, staff training, lighting and sound design, menu implementation, entertainment, and marketing and advertising. Fundamentally lacking in almost all instances, was perfecting the art of hospitality. As a result, Michael began developing communication techniques to not only make businesses function properly, but also, change the perspective of the ones who owned the business.
Michael consulted independently, and with teams he has built throughout the years. Michael’s focus shifted from the classic consulting models he had worked in for decades to wanting to build the ultimate resource that could provide guidance and support for every type of hospitality venue. Maverick Theory was formed in 2023 with co-founders David Foss and Arno Stemmer."
