HopCat East Lansing grand opening

The vintage Playboy magazine covers lining the men's restroom walls at HopCat East Lansing has offended some, but the bar's owner says the decor is innocuous.

(Brandon Howell | MLive.com)

EAST LANSING -- Hopcat's bathroom decor - vintage Playboy magazine covers - has prompted some people to say they won't patronize

But HopCat founder and owner Mark Sellers said the covers lining the men's restroom walls and the classic fashion magazine covers lining the women's restroom are innocuous.

"Have you been to the checkout counter at any supermarket in America? It's way worse than what's in our bathroom," Sellers said.

Photos released by the Lansing City Pulse before HopCat East Lansing's grand opening led several to express their contempt via social media. One woman expressed hers on the establishment's

"Way to disappoint before you open your doors, HopCat!" Shannon Nobles wrote on Wednesday. "Does good beer have to go hand in hand with misogyny?! What is the reasoning behind objectifying women in the restrooms?! I expected more. You have lost at least one potential customer."

Vintage fashion magazine covers line the women's restroom walls at HopCat East Lansing.

Sellers said many women were part of the bar's bathroom design, including his ex-wife, Michele, whom he said liked the idea of the magazine covers.

"It's not just a bunch of guys sitting around figuring out how to make the bathrooms fun for men," Sellers said. "There are a lot of people involved in the decisions here, not just men."

He got the idea for the Playboy covers as wallpaper while vacationing in Iceland. A bar he visited there had a similar concept, which Sellers modified and chose to implement at his East Lansing expansion.

"Just from travel, that's where I get a lot of my ideas," he said. "I go to a lot of breweries and bars and take a lot of mental notes. I try to bring big-city concepts to our towns."

David Dodde, who heads design for HopCat's parent company, BarFly Ventures, said the Playboy and fashion magazine covers are part of the unique theme to East Lansing's HopCat. He said they were intended to serve as a conversation piece.

"I guess it's been kind of controversial, but it's worked because we're talking about it," Dodde said. "What we want is people to talk about it."

Sellers noted that HopCat patrons must be at least 21 years old to enter, unless they're in the company of a parent. The bar also offers a family restroom with no themed decor.

"There isn't really a controversy here. It's just a couple of people," Sellers said.

"Plus, it's just a bathroom."

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