BANANA MAX NIGHTCLUBS

Project Overview
Banana Max was a nightclub created in the mid-1980s in Jupiter, Florida, and quickly became one of South Florida’s most popular destinations for dancing and nightlife. As my first major nightclub design for restaurateur Peter Beck of Yesterday’s Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, the project gave me the opportunity to create an immersive environment where lighting, art, music, and architecture worked together to tell a story.

Design Story
The project began with the transformation of a former western-themed bar into a series of interconnected spaces, each offering its own atmosphere while contributing to a single theatrical experience.

The original bucking bull pit became a large revolving circular bar, allowing guests to slowly experience changing views of the nightclub and its surrounding tropical gardens. Suspended above, Cuban artist Carlos Alfonzo created a dramatic bird mural inspired by his journey from Cuba during the Mariel Boatlift. His artwork became the visual narrative of the club, beginning above the revolving bar, continuing through intimate rooms where illuminated displays suggested drifting feathers, and culminating in the main dance floor, where Carlos described the dancers themselves as “the birds taking flight.”

Throughout the nightclub, lighting became an essential design element. Projectors illuminated only the orchids within Gabrielle Fiorentino’s thirty-foot tropical mural, creating a striking contrast against the surrounding artwork. In the cocktail lounge, concealed lighting inside crystal spheres projected golden stars across the tabletops, while custom Aurora light fixtures suspended above five bars preserved open views across the dance floor and emphasized the dramatic height of the space.

Rather than relying on a single dramatic room, Banana Max unfolded as a sequence of changing moods. Color, light, artwork, and movement encouraged guests to explore the club, discovering a new experience around every corner. Its location near the Intracoastal Waterway and the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre helped establish Banana Max as one of South Florida’s most memorable nightlife destinations.

What Made This Project Unique
Banana Max was designed as an experience rather than simply a nightclub. Every space revealed another chapter through art, lighting, and movement, inviting guests to become part of the story themselves. Long after the music ended, it was those memorable experiences that people continued to talk about, exactly what great hospitality design should achieve.