Owner of Lansing Shuffle's Irie Smoke Shack, Max Hardy, dies at 40; restaurant's future uncertain
LANSING — Max Hardy, owner of Irie Smoke Shack, one of seven restaurants inside Lansing Shuffle, has died.
Hardy, a Detroit native who competed on several Food Network shows and owned two other restaurants in Detroit, was 40.
Detroit Shipping Co., the venue where COOP Caribbean Fusion, one of Hardy's restaurants, operates, posted about his death Tuesday on its Facebook page. The owners of Detroit Shipping Co. also operate Lansing Shuffle.
"It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Chef Max Hardy," the post said. "Chef Max has been with us from day one. We met with him back in 2017 while he was still living in New York and were impressed by his passion, his vision and his generosity. He was one of the few chefs who understood our vision and was willing to take a risk on two guys who had never owned a bar or restaurant and simply had the development rights to a patch of dirt in Detroit. He returned to Detroit from New York and opened Coop in Detroit Shipping Company."
Hardy also owned Jed's Detroit, a pizza and wing restaurant in Detroit.
Hardy opened Irie Smoke Shack just over a year ago, featuring Caribbean barbecue with menu items that included jerk chicken and chopped brisket sandwiches, island slaw and loaded brisket mac and cheese. The venue is one of seven restaurants at the social hall off Riverfront Drive, along with Kin Thai, Browndog at the Shuffle, Osteria Vegana, Yeti Kitchen, Takitos AF and Beirut Kitchen.
In January 2023, Hardy told the State Journal Detroit Rising, the Livonia-based firm behind Lansing Shuffle and Detroit Shipping Co. approached him about opening a restaurant in the new Lansing venue.
"When the opportunity came, I thought it would be a great opportunity to broaden the portfolio," he said.
It is unclear what impact Hardy's death will have on his restaurants. Jonathan Hartzell, founding partner at Detroit Rising didn't immediately respond to a message Wednesday morning.
"He was recognized by the NY Times as one of '16 Black chefs changing food in America,' was one of 2021's Michiganians of the Year, and 2021's Hour Detroit's Restaurateur of the Year," the post on Detroit Shipping Co.'s Facebook page said. "Chef Max was the author of multiple cookbooks and developed his own line of spices and chef gear. He opened, or was involved in opening, a half-dozen other restaurants in the Detroit area and beyond. With Chef Max, there was always something cooking."
According to the Detroit Free Press, Hardy also co-authored the "Marley Coffee Cookbook" with Rohan Marley, son of musician Bob Marley, and was very active in Detroit, both through volunteering and with his charity One Chef Can 86 Hunger.
"Chef Max was a brilliant chef, an entrepreneur, a friend, and a father," said Detroit Shipping Co.'s post. "He had big dreams, a big heart, and he will be greatly missed."
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Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ .
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Max Hardy, owner of Lansing Shuffle's Irie Smoke Shack, dies at age 40
