Rifkin, an aeronautics engineer from Brooklyn, came to Denver in the 1960s to build missile silos for Martin Marietta. When his defense job was finished, he decided to stay in Denver and opened the Lemon Tree Lounge disco in Lakewood. Rifkin and his partners ended up opening 48 nightclubs, restaurants, and strip joints. One of his most popular clubs was called the Turn of the Century nightclub, where the country's top performers routinely stopped in the 1970s and 1980s when they were between gigs in Chicago and the West Coast.

Rifkin also became close friends with Bill Cosby and Sammy Davis Jr. In addition to running the Turn of the Century, Rifkin and his partners owned and operated the Diamond Cabaret, Proof of the Pudding, Lyle Alzado, Miss Rosie Bottoms, Charlie Horse, Maui Bay, Distant Thunder, Denver Denver and the Great American Steak & Lobster Co. In South Miami Beach, FL, he and his partners opened Touch and Kiss.

After Rifkin was diagnosed with cancer, he raised more than $1 million in cancer research funds at functions at the Diamond Cabaret, considered the classiest strip joint in Denver.

"Every penny he raised, went to charity," Rifkin's long-time partner Jerry Kernis tells GlobeSt.com. "He covered all of the overhead out of his own pocket."